HERE WE GO: Officials in Maricopa County, AZ Say Bird Flu Detected in County Wastewater

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The Maricopa County Department of Public Health issued the following news release:

https://www.maricopa.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=3177

As part of routine wastewater surveillance in Maricopa County, Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) is reporting the detection of an influenza subtype associated with avian flu in local wastewater. No human cases of avian flu have been detected in Maricopa County, and the risk to the general population remains low.

Wastewater monitoring is a tool used to detect genetic material from microbes, like influenza A and its subtypes, in untreated wastewater, helping inform public health and partners on changing disease activity. The influenza A(H5) subtype, which can include H5N1 that is associated with avian influenza (also known as bird flu), was detected by all three cities within Maricopa County that conduct wastewater monitoring—Phoenix, Surprise, and Tempe—but it is not currently possible to confirm a precise source location of the viral detection.

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Avian influenza has been detected in Arizona, including a commercial poultry farm in Pinal County, and a backyard flock and animals at a zoo in Maricopa County. The H5N1 detections in Pinal and Maricopa counties where further genomic testing was done are the same strain of H5N1 that is occurring in wild birds. Tests with other samples are pending. The same strain-specific testing in wastewater samples is not available so this link cannot be confirmed. There have been no detections of H5N1 in dairy cattle in Arizona.

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