Avian influenza has been spreading in birds and livestock across the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health reports traces of avian flu have been detected in recent wastewater sampling from Phoenix, Tempe and Surprise.
Over the past two months in Maricopa County, the H5N1 virus has been confirmed among birds in a backyard poultry flock, geese in a public park and animals in a Litchfield Park zoo.
But Dr. Nick Staab with the county public health department said the risk to humans remains very low, even if the virus is now showing up in wastewater.
“We have not detected any H5N1 infections in humans in Maricopa County, so we believe that these detections are related to those positive tests in animals,” Staab said.
Nationwide, the CDC has confirmed 66 human cases of the virus this year. The majority of those cases were linked to direct contact with a sick animal. No human-to-human transmission of the virus has been confirmed. In Arizona, two likely cases of the virus were detected among workers from a commercial poultry farm in Pinal County where birds had tested positive for avian flu.
Staab said his department is continuing to monitor people in Maricopa County who may have had animal exposure.
“Those individuals in Maricopa County, if they’re related to one of our recent exposures, are being followed by Public Health. If they develop any symptoms, we will test them for H5 flu, but the general public at this time is low-risk for H5N1 flu,” Staab said.
According to the CDC, avian flu infections in humans can result in mild upper respiratory symptoms or conjunctivitis, but some cases can lead to severe outcomes such as pneumonia or even death.
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