Fragments of Bird Flu Have Been Discovered in San Francisco Wastewater

Two cases of H5N1, better known as bird flu, have been discovered by the San Francisco Health Department at a live poultry market.

Two asymptomatic chickens, who tested positive for bird flu, were discovered during a routine monitoring program conducted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The testing stems from added monitoring due to a national bird flu outbreak.

Because of the positive cases, WastewaterSCAN, a national initiative monitoring infectious disease through municipal wastewater, has begun testing San Francisco’s wastewater for the H5 marker. Those initial tests have found fragments of H5 genetic material.

“The most important thing to note is there is no threat to public health at this time,” said Dr. George Han, the Director of Communicable Disease Prevention & Control at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “There have been no human cases.”

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