As bird flu concerns grow, Alberta researchers hope to launch wastewater monitoring for livestock

Alberta researchers are working to expand wastewater surveillance into the agriculture sector in an effort to identify early warning signs and protect against potential threats, including H5N1 avian influenza.

Scientists regularly monitor for viruses,including SARS-CoV-2, among humans by sampling wastewater in Alberta municipalities.

They've developed tests for other pathogens, including H5N1.

The next goal is to launch a pilot project that would monitor waste from Alberta livestock for the virus and expand urban wastewater surveillance to regularly test for it as well.

"The world has witnessed dozens of influenza pandemics. Inevitably they come from animal populations, crossing over," said Dr. Michael Parkins, a University of Calgary infectious disease physician and co-lead of the pan-Alberta wastewater network.

"[With] H5N1 we've been worried about an impending pandemic threat for some time. It could happen any day, and being prepared is really important." 

H5N1, which causes high rates of death in wild and domestic bird populations, has sparked concern after being discovered in U.S. dairy cattle and infecting a small number of people in North America, including a B.C. teenager who was hospitalized late last year and has since been released. The United States announced its first human death related to H5N1 this week.

Testing for bird flu on Canadian farms is currently limited to individual animals, according to Parkins.

"The ability to screen, therefore, is limited to merely the tip of the iceberg — the sickest animals in lots that we think are involved — and we can't actually assess the more general or wide population," he said.

According to Parkins, testing wastewater on farms, feedlots and other sites would allow researchers to monitor wider livestock populations, identify transmission patterns and track changes in the virus that could pose a greater threat to humans.

Researchers from the University of Calgary, the University of Lethbridge, the University of Alberta and Athabasca University are involved in the pilot, which would take runoff and catchment samples and test for a variety of pathogens, including H5N1.

Tim McAllister, a  Lethbridge-based research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, said they hope to monitor waste streams from 30 to 50 farms across the dairy, beef, swine and poultry sectors.

 "H5N1 is the one we're focusing on now, but once you've got that genetic material … you could look at other emerging diseases as well," he said.

The team has submitted proposals to funding agencies in an effort to launch the pilot project. If approved, Parkins said they'd have funding to monitor municipal water supplies for avian influenza once a week, and more often if necessary.