But the public health department noted that no human cases of bird flu have been reported and the risk posed by the disease is still minimal.
“Wastewater monitoring is one of multiple tools we have to proactively monitor for avian flu in our community,” said Dr. Nick Staab, the county health department’s assistant medical director. “Given that no human cases have been identified in Maricopa County through our other disease detection methods and there is no recent documented spread of H5N1 influenza from human to human, the overall risk of avian flu to people remains low.”
Here’s what to know about bird flu in Arizona.
Where has the bird flu been found in Arizona?
The bird flu was detected in untreated wastewater in Phoenix, Surprise and Tempe — all three cities that conduct testing on wastewater.The county also said avian flu has been found at Wildlife World Zoo in Maricopa County and a poultry farm in Pinal County to the south of Phoenix, according to a public health department press release. Five animals at the zoo, including a cheetah, died as a result of exposure to the flu.
In a phone interview, Stabb told Phoenix New Times that current testing processes only allow labs to detect the type of hemagglutinin in bird flu — the H5 part of the flu’s name. There are not any other known H5 influenza subtypes being transmitted, Stabb said, “so the assumption is that it is H5N1 and it is related to the other infections we’ve had in animals around Maricopa County.”
Are people in Arizona at risk from bird flu?
In Arizona, there has not been a single recorded case of bird flu in humans.Will Humble, the executive director at the nonprofit Arizona Public Health Association, told Phoenix New Times he felt fine about local human health after the recent detection of bird flu.
“I’m not concerned about it,” Humble said, adding that he was confused about how the virus was being detected, especially given that Phoenix’s drain and wastewater treatment systems are separate.
“In a non-agricultural city like Phoenix, I just don’t get how it’s getting in,” Humble said.
Humble tweeted on Monday that detected cases of H1N1 flu, which is a more common flu for humans to catch, have been jumping significantly.
Stabb was also unsure how the H5 virus got into wastewater and preferred not to speculate.
“We’re all at this stage learning together. This wastewater surveillance is a new science – it came out of COVID-19,” Stabb said. “We don’t have historical perspective.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified 61 human cases of H5N1 bird flu since April.
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What is bird flu?
According to the county health department, bird flu is seen in wild and domestic birds, but human cases are rare.On Dec. 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the first severe case of bird flu was detected days before in Louisiana. According to the CDC, there have been 61 reported human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the United States since April 2024.
The Maricopa County Department of Public Health said that human cases primarily occur in people who have “close, unprotected contact with sick or dead animals, their bedding, or their droppings.”
How can avian flu be avoided?
Health officials advise against drinking unpasteurized (raw) dairy products and urge people to avoid contact with sick or dead birds or other sick animals.“To prevent illness, we want residents and visitors to focus on taking general respiratory virus prevention measures,” Staab said.
Normal hygiene measures and getting seasonal vaccines are recommended. Although there isn’t a vaccine for bird flu, Staab said getting other flu vaccines can reduce the risk for a more catastrophic mutation of seasonal and bird flu.
“Allowing for those different virus strains to genetically resort is what we’re trying to avoid," Staab said. "Good precautions for standard flu is going to be what allows us to prevent that."
The county health department said if you see sick or dead wild birds, call the Arizona Game and Fish Department at 623-236-7201.
