MADISON, Wis. -- The state Department of Natural Resources is asking for the public's help in keeping a deadly fish virus at bay.

Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia, more commonly called VHS, has already infected the Great Lakes, including Lake Michigan, and is causing massive fish kills.

"I think people know about invasive species in general but I think this one is such a large threat," said Mike Staggs, director of the Bureau of Fisheries. "It's probably an order of magnitude greater than anything we've seen to date."

The DNR has long warned against the threat of zebra mussels, but damage from VHS could be a disaster to a state, which depends largely on fishing tourism, WISC-TV reported.

"Fishing in Wisconsin is a $2.3 billion industry," said Staggs. "Lakes like the Madison lakes here are very valuable fisheries. The size of the fish kills we've seen in other places, if those occur here, we could see half or more of the fisheries lost in the state."

The DNR is calling an emergency meeting of the Natural Resources Board on Wednesday to address an emergency rule that they believe would help control the spread of VHS and educate boaters and anglers.

The virus isn't a threat to humans, only to fish, officials said.

To help keep VHS out of local waters, experts recommend the public empty any water from boats after boating on any of the Great Lakes, because the virus can live in water, WISC-TV reported.

They also suggest not using live bait from outside of the state because other states don't screen live bait for health issues.