H5N1 avian flu virus detected in wastewater from 10 Texas cities

A report yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine details detection of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu virus in wastewater from 10 Texas cities during the same time period the virus was detected in Texas cattle herds.

The study was conducted by researchers primarily from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) and Baylor College of Medicine. Before March 2024, H5N1 had not been detected in 1,337 wastewater samples analyzed by the team, a press release from UTHealth Houston said. 

From March 4 to July 15 of this year, H5N1 was detected as part of the virome (collection of viruses present in wastewater sample) in 10 of 10 cities, 22 of 23 sites (96%), and 100 of 399 samples (25%). 

"The abundance of H5N1 sequences identified has not correlated with influenza-related hospitalizations, which declined in Texas during the spring of 2024," the authors wrote.