Testing wastewater has become an important way to keep an eye on things since no one knows how far the H5N1 bird flu has spread to dairy cattle and then to people. Wastewater SCAN scientists found a lot of H5 influenza in three treatment plants that are near places where H5N1 has been found in cattle. The results came out yesterday.
In other news, a dairy expert from Michigan State University Extension shared a case report about an outbreak at a dairy farm in Michigan.
There are times when testing can give you an early sign, but only so much.
Yesterday, scientists from WastewaterSCAN, a national system based at Stanford University and working with Emory University, wrote about their findings in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters.
Other groups are also trying to figure out how the virus is spreading through wastewater at the same time as this group. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put out their own screen for keeping an eye on wastewater last week. Keep an eye on flu A types like H5N1 with this screen. Scientists from Texas recently found H5N1 virus genes in the sewage of nine out of ten Texas towns.
The Wastewater SCAN team created an H5 probe that they used to find high levels of H5 and influenza A in solids from old wastewater from four wastewater treatment plants in Texas (two in Amarillo and one in Dallas) and North Carolina (Forsyth County). As a reference, they looked at Honolulu, Hawaii data from the same time period.
Flu A and H5N1 levels went up right before and during the proven H5N1 cases in dairy cows in the Texas area.
According to what they wrote, this study shows that tracking wastewater can give early warning for outbreaks that are likely to bring in things other than human waste. For example, it can do this for animal outbreaks of diseases that could spread to humans.
The experts made it clear that the test can't tell which species spreads the H5 virus. They did say, though, that information from Texas emergency rooms shows that the virus probably wasn't spread by people.
The writers also said that the investigation can find other H5 viruses besides H5N1. In other words, it could find H5 viruses that aren't very dangerous.
They said that samples from all 190 WastewaterSCAN stations would be tested with the H5 tool. The screen would then show the data to people in charge of public health in the area.
Notable signs in cows and effects on finances
Phil Durst, a field-based teacher for MSU Extension, wrote in his report that the information came from a farmer who agreed to be tried so that it could help other farms. Each county in Michigan has 18 cases, which is more than any other state.
The story says that the event began on May 1 and lasted for 15 days. The spread started in a barn with three water taps and two pens. In the middle, one of the taps was shared. There are 500 cows in the group. One of the first signs was a two-day rise in body temperature that made the person very thirsty. Some cows may have had abortions because they were too hot.
The farm workers who were still healthy tried to contain the outbreak to the barn by switching the wash cycle after milking the sick cows. However, the virus quickly spread to all the nursing cows on the farm.
It was hard to breed because of all the work that went into taking care of the sick cows. The farmer believed the spread had already cost around $30,000 to $40,000 in medical bills, milk lost, and babies that could not happen.
The story says that the event began on May 1 and lasted for 15 days. The spread started in a barn with three water taps and two pens. In the middle, one of the taps was shared. There are 500 cows in the group. One of the first signs was a two-day rise in body temperature that made the person very thirsty. Some cows may have had abortions because they were too hot.
The farm workers who were still healthy tried to contain the outbreak to the barn by switching the wash cycle after milking the sick cows. However, the virus quickly spread to all the nursing cows on the farm.
It was hard to breed because of all the work that went into taking care of the sick cows. The farmer believed the spread had already cost around $30,000 to $40,000 in medical bills, milk lost, and babies that could not happen.
