WastewaterScan Follow Up December 10th
Iowa records H5 at 3 of 5 sites tested - 2 with swine slaughter facilities
I took a minute to recheck Iowa this morning on the WastewaterSCAN Dashboard:
All of a sudden, 3 of the 5 sites have had H5 hits in the past 2 weeks. One (Ottumwa is a repeat of the Iowa site I had discussed in last week’s blog: H5 Wastewater Sampling - What is it Good For?. A second site is Marshalltown, home to another major JBS swine slaughter facility. The third is Coralville, where both the University of Iowa and the State Hygienic Laboratory (public health testing HQ) are located.
None of these 3 samples have H5 levels as high as the earlier Ottumwa sample; I’m not enough of a technical expert to know what concentrations are required to successfully sequence RNA from sample materials. Regardless, enough virus material was present to signal H5 RNA.
It’s quite possible, perhaps even likely that all 3 wastewater facilities may receive non-closed sewage inflow from infected avian-dense areas, leading to positive findings due to H5 infected wild birds. If so, that’s all the more reason to sequence samples to rule in that etiology for the findings.
However, it’s also within the realm of possibility that the H5 RNA could signal mammalian infections - cattle, swine, or even human origin. Whole genome sequencing will not answer that question by itself; however, it would provide important next clues regarding viral genotype(s) to aid in the next steps for further epidemiological investigations.
This is a fresh test for the fledgling influenza H5 wastewater surveillance system. Do we collectively have the will and foresight to actually utilize the information this tool presents to us? We are not in a position to have the “luxury” of falling back to speculation on positive findings to avoid confronting possible uncomfortable further information. We’ve collectively made the federal and state investments in infrastructure, sample collection, and screening to generate these public H5 subtype findings. Let’s take the final step to attempt sequencing and publicly disclose results for the benefit of all. One Health depends upon it!
John
Thanks for the updates. We only have one farm where H5N1 was confirmed in pigs and all five pigs on that farm were euthanized. As a pig farmer your economic losses from finding a dead H5N1 infected bird are totally different than if you are a cattleman. There are several mammal species now confirmed to carry the virus, some with lethal effects and some with no obvious clinical signs at all but of all those species only pigs are likely to be euthanized . Yes we know pigs can act as a vessel where genetic remixing can yield a far more dangerous virus for humans but I strongly believe it isn’t the only species that can do so. Maybe listing some of the other mammals that can carry common human viruses that also represent a risk of viral remixing with H5N1 needs some attention. I personally am working towards depopulating my pig herd before selling them becomes far more difficult, or impossible.