The
Michigan DNR announced on May 17, 2007, that Budd became the first inland lake in the state of Michigan confirmed to be infected by
viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS). The DNR analyzed fish specimens after a very large die-off that began on April 30, 2007, of muskies,
bluegills, and
black crappie. The disease can be spread between bodies of water through live or frozen
bait fish, roe, contaminated fishing equipment, live water wells in boats, and ballast water, among other ways. Boats and fishing equipment should be disinfected before transfer from Budd Lake to other destinations. Fish specimens collected in May were among those used in testing the effectiveness of StaRT-
PCR testing compared to cell culture and conventional
qRT-PCR DNA testing, which avoided false negatives that occurred with the other techniques. ==See also==