Itch-Inducing Blue-Green Weed Invades Lake Victoria - AllAfrica.com

[hatrack]

Kitubulu Resort on the shores of Lake Victoria has been invaded by a blue-greenish powder-like weed. Many people who have been to Kitubulu Resort at the shores of Lake Victoria have complained that the water causes their bodies to itch.

The fishermen at the lake say when the blue-green, powder-like weed sticks on the body, it irritates the skin. They christened the smelly-rotten weed, Musisi, because it appears during the dry season. Murchison Bay on Lake Victoria was also invaded by the weed recently.

The fishermen said the small fish were dying and attributed the death to the weed.

Experts say the weed encourages the growth of bacteria, which use up the oxygen in the water. The bacteria decompose the algae and dissolve the oxygen in the water, killing the fish.

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