CDC launches wastewater dashboard for flu to help track H5N1
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Key takeaways:
- The CDC launched an interactive map that shows site-level data for influenza A virus levels in wastewater.
- Wastewater surveillance does not distinguish by virus subtype and cannot specifically identify H5N1.
The CDC was already monitoring wastewater in the United States for influenza A viruses as part of its regular year-round surveillance.
Now, the agency has launched an influenza A wastewater online dashboard to help track the potential spread of H5N1 avian influenza, or “bird flu,” which has caused outbreaks among birds and dairy cows.
H5N1 has been confirmed in more than 9,300 wild birds in all 50 states, nearly 91 million poultry in 48 states and in 46 dairy herds in nine states, in addition to one human case in Texas, according to the CDC and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The CDC had not made data on influenza A available as part of its wastewater surveillance dashboard until this week.
According to the agency, current methods for monitoring wastewater are able to detect influenza A viruses — including H5N1 — but are not able to distinguish between subtypes, meaning it cannot tell H5N1 from seasonal H1N1 or H3N2 viruses, for example, although those viruses are not circulating widely now that influenza season is over.
It also cannot tell if viruses detected in wastewater came from a human or animal source, but the CDC uses the data to determine where novel influenza viruses such as H5N1 may be occurring before investigating further.
“Having a dashboard tracking avian influenza would be helpful in knowing how much of the illness is present in different populations and in different areas,” Aaron E. Glatt, MD, MACP, FIDSA, FSHEA, chair of Mount Sinai South Nassau’s department of medicine, told Healio.
“It is a rough guide to the spread of avian influenza, and it can help with public decision-making by identifying new areas of spread and whether illness is receding. While a rough tool, it is a potentially helpful new public health measure,” Glatt said.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater has increasingly been used to track the population-level spread of pathogens, including mpox and polio.
“[The dashboard] does not have direct implications for individual patients or the general public at this time, but it is a very new and potentially powerful surveillance method for public health officials,” Glatt said.
References:
- CDC. Influenza A virus wastewater data. https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/wastewater-surveillance/Flu-A-data.html. Updated May 14, 2024. Accessed May 15, 2024.
- CDC. Influenza (flu): H5N1 bird flu: Current situation summary. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/avian-flu-summary.htm. Updated May 14, 2024. Accessed May 14, 2024.
- CDC. Influenza (flu): How CDC is monitoring influenza data to better understand the current avian influenza A (H5N1) situation in people. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/h5-monitoring.html. Updated May 14, 2024. Accessed May 14, 2024.
- USDA. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) detections in livestock. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/livestock. Updated May 14, 2024. Accessed May 14, 2024.
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