State Sen. Melissa Haltado (D-Sanger) is frustrated by the lack of wastewater monitoring for H5N1 bird flu in the state’s most at-risk communities.
On Tuesday, she introduced a bill to fix it. Called the Wastewater Monitoring Act, if passed, at least one wastewater monitoring site is required in all California counties. The bill requires the state’s Department of Public Health to expand its current wastewater network known as Karswors to include all counties, and “prioritizes areas with low hopes and high risk.” .
California is ground zero for H5N1 avian influenza virus in dairy cows and dairy workers. Since the virus was first reported in dairy farms in March 2024, California has accounted for 77% of infections in the US dairy herd and 38 of 68 human cases.
Hurtado said her father and nie were sick last summer due to an unknown respiratory virus. She said they live in the central valley near poultry and dairy products, but it was not tested for H5N1.
The central valley, where most of the California dairy cow herds are located, was the center of the outbreak. However, in regards to wastewater monitoring, health authorities use it to warn the presence and concentration of pathogens such as H5N1, seasonal influenza, Covid-19, and norovirus, but in this region, the condition is monitored. It’s rarely done in this area. virus.
In fact, it does not exist in some of the most at-risk counties, including Tulares and Kings.
In California, health officials say they are monitoring 78 sites in 36 counties for a variety of viruses. At all but two sites, they say they are looking for bird flu.
“We’ve had a bird flu outbreak, mainly running between dairy cows and herds in Central Valley,” Hartado said. “And now we don’t have a waste monitor. There’s wastewater monitoring going on. This law will change that.”
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