Bird flu has been detected in wastewater in multiple metro Phoenix cities, and county health officials confirmed it on Monday.
Routine wastewater surveillance in Phoenix, Tempe and Surprise — the three cities in the county where monitoring occurs — confirmed the presence of avian influenza, according to a press release from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH).
The influenza subtype, which includes bird flu as H5N1, has been detected in multiple locations in the Valley in the past couple of months. MCDPH said it’s not currently possible to nail down a precise location for detection, but the virus’ presence does indicate that it is more prevalent in the community than previously known.
Since November, avian influenza been reported at a poultry farm in Pinal County, a backyard flock in Maricopa County, in several animals at the Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park and in dead geese at a Scottsdale park.
Human cases of the virus have occurred stemming from just one outbreak — the poultry farm in Pinal County. Both of the infected people in that outbreak reported mild symptoms, received treatment and have since recovered.
Health officials said the concern for humans remains minimal.
“Wastewater monitoring is one of multiple tools we have to proactively monitor for avian flu in our community,” Nick Staab, assistant medical director at MCDPH, said in the release.
“Given that no human cases have been identified in Maricopa County through our other disease detection methods and there is no recent documented spread of H5N1 influenza from human to human, the overall risk of avian flu to people remains low.”
