KEY WEST, Fla. – A herpes-like virus has infected up to 10 percent of baby lobsters in the Florida Keys, leading some fisheries experts to wonder whether the disease explains recent dips in lobster catches.

Biologists doubt the disease can be transferred to humans but have alerted the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just in case.

In all but two cases, the virus has been detected only in lobsters that are less than 6 months old, not yet at reproduction age, and smaller than three inches, the minimum length at which they can legally be caught.

Dead cells build up in the infected lobster’s blood, turning it from its normal clear amber hue to white. Infected lobsters lose the ability to eat, stop grooming and, as a result, grow a coat of algae. After 30 to 90 days, the disease kills them.

Statewide lobster catch averages 6 million to 6.25 million pounds a season, with about 90 percent of the lobsters caught off the Keys. The catch fell to 5.25 million pounds in 2001; to 3.1 million in 2002; and rose slightly to 4.5 million for the season ending March 2003.