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Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Viruses. Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A, also known as ‘bird flu’, is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is currently causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows (https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/).
In Oregon we measure flu A and flu B viral RNA in wastewater samples. Therefore, if H5N1 (a type of flu A) were present it would be included in the flu A measurement. However, we do not specifically measure H5N1 separately from other flu A viral RNA.
In response to H5N1 concerns the CDC has a new influenza A dashboard at https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/wastewater-surveillance/Flu-A-data.html. Sites are categorized as having minimal to high levels of influenza A, compared to other time periods in the 2023-24 flu season at the same site. Oregon data is represented on this map, however, sites labeled “insufficient data” either did not have at least 10 samples positive for influenza A between October 1 and March 2, submitted fewer than 6 total samples between Oct 1 and Jan 1, or have not submitted data in the last two weeks. Using these CDC NWSS parameters, only 7 Oregon sites are eligible for listing on the new dashboard.
Units of wastewater concentrations. The CDC recommends reporting the concentration of virus (COVID-19, flu, RSV, etc.) in units of “viral RNA copies per day/person”. Viral RNA refers to the # of RNA molecules in the sample (the RNA specific to the target virus), and is sometimes abbreviated to ‘copies’. This approximates the number of viruses, or remnants of viruses, in the wastewater. The concentration represents how many copies were in the wastewater in one day of flow and is divided by the number of people in the collection boundary.
What does log mean? In reporting wastewater surveillance viral concentration, log base 10 is conventionally used to express the concentration of virus present. The reason that the log of the viral concentration is used is because of the large range of concentrations possible. The convention is to use log to compress this range for intuitive understanding. For example, a low COVID-19 log value is 5.6 RNA copies per day/person, while a high value is 8.5. These values correspond to the following ‘unlogged’ values:
NWSS Article. The CDC has recently (May 2024 is the official publication date) published an article (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969724017078) describing the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), which funds OHA to perform Oregon’s wastewater surveillance efforts. As indicated by the figure, the article describes NWSS, its inception, coverage, and plans for expansion.
RSV and influenza. While we measure SARS-CoV-2 viral concentrations (the virus that causes COVID) from influent samples year-round, we only measure influenza and RSV during their peak periods - typically October through April. However, as influenza is still circulating in Oregon, we will continue to measure influenza virus for another month.
Flow reporting. Thank you to utilities! Flow reporting has been great, with most utilities providing a chain of custody form, which includes the average daily flow rate, or emails us the flow rates.
Supply Inventory Complete. Thank you for responding to the sampling supplies email. In addition to adjusting your next supply shipment date, we are sending 10 weeks of supplies every 9 weeks instead of 8 weeks. We hope that this will alleviate stock-piles in your lab. Feel free to email any time if you would like another adjustment.
OSU Clean Water Showcase May 22, 2024. You are invited to attend OSU’s 2024 Clean Water Showcase taking place at LaSells Stewart Center on the OSU Corvallis campus from 9 am to 5 pm on May 22nd. Members of our Wastewater Surveillance team will be presenting posters. The event is free and there are in-person and virtual options.
Across the globe, access to clean water is threatened by population growth, climate change, industrial and agricultural pollution, and other pressures. Join us at the 2024 Clean Water Showcase hosted by Oregon State University to learn more about innovative and leading work to protect this precious resource through talks by keynote speakers, faculty and student presentations, and professional development activities.
To register: https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/research/water/showcase
WEF and NWSS California Center of Excellence are hosting a Wastewater Surveillance workshop June 5, 2024 – Travel funds available. WEF has invited Oregon Utilities to attend a free one-day wastewater surveillance workshop run by WEF and the California CoE on June 5, 2024 at Standford University. The topics are wastewater surveillance sustainability and practical stakeholder communication tools. Some members of our wastewater surveillance team will be attending.