The Maricopa County Department of Public Health has found an influenza subtype associated with avian flu in local wastewater, authorities said.

It was detected as part of “routine wastewater surveillance” in Phoenix, Tempe and Surprise, according to a department release.

No human cases of avian flu have been detected in Maricopa County, and the risk to the general population remains low, officials stated in the release.

Wastewater monitoring is a tool used to detect genetic material from microbes, like influenza A and its subtypes, in untreated wastewater, helping inform public health and partners on changing disease activity.

“The influenza A(H5) subtype, which can include H5N1 that is associated with avian influenza (also known as bird flu), was detected by all three cities within Maricopa County that conduct wastewater monitoring - Phoenix, Surprise and Tempe - but it is not currently possible to confirm a precise source location of the viral detection,” the release stated.

Avian influenza has been detected in Arizona, including a commercial poultry farm in Pinal County, and a backyard flock and animals at a zoo in Maricopa County.

“Wastewater monitoring is one of multiple tools we have to proactively monitor for avian flu in our community,” Dr. Nick Staab, assistant medical director at MCDPH, said.

“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.”

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