Data Report

I couldn't help but notice in Steves topic "US-HPAI detected in state of Hawaii" that the property with the infected flock is served by the same wastewater treatment plant that is also detecting the virus..

...this prompts me to wonder about a certain practice which I must mention that is done by many wastewater treatment plants and should be explored...

..."Mar 30, 2023 — About half the sewage sludge in the U.S. is made into fertilizer, according to the National Biosolids Data Project"

A wastewater plant will give away processed poop called "sludge" to farmers to use as fertilizer.

Whenever the property with the infected flock is served by the same wastewater treatment plant, I would think a good policy for wastewater plants should be to indicate whether their treatment plant had ever given "sludge" to that particular farm that now has Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

I have questions: Is it conceivable that wastewater treatment plants could have given that farm some sludge as fertilizer inadvertently infecting the farm with tainted sludge/fertilizer? Is it safe to feed a chicken food that has been fertilized by  sewage and could the chickens get sick? If a wastewater plant detects viruses such as HPAI avian flu, in their wastewater,  does that wastewater treatment plant still provide "sludge"/fertilizer to farmers? 

It does appear that bird flu spreads through water
"Open bodies of water, including drinking water reservoirs, can become contaminated by birds that are actively shedding virus or by waterfowl carcasses. Surface runoff also represents a potential source of contamination for groundwater".

All this gives rise to the question can wastewater treatment plants be infecting farms with tainted sludge/fertilizer? To me, this is a question worth exploring as we see more and more farms fall prey to the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

Very little is online about Wastewater Sludge protocols and what wastewater sites are obliged to do or what they do do prior to selling sludge to farmers from what I have noticed...

That being said I did find some info on avian flu and  manure (back in 2015) and what is proposed as to what farmers are supposed to do with manure to prevent bird flu over at "Avian Influenza: Manure Application and Crop Production BMPs Posted on April 29, 2015 (April 21, 2016) by Christine Brown in Soil Health here:
https://fieldcropnews.com/2015/04/avian-influenza-manure-application-and-crop-production-bmps/
-13%"In manure, the avian influenza virus can survive for 30 to 35 days at temperatures of  4oC and up to 7 days at  20oC.  The virus can remain viable for longer periods in liquid manure.  During winter months the virus remained viable for over 100 days in research studies.

Heat, dryness and extremely high or low pH can destroy the virus’ ability to infect.  In barns a method used to inactivate the virus included heating the barn to 38oC (100oF) for a week.  Viability of the virus “deposited” by infected migratory birds in fields will be reduced as winter conditions transition to spring.  Just another reason to look forward to the spring/summer warmth and sunshine.

Use of disinfectants such as Virkon, Accel, VIROCID®, Bisentry, Biosolve Plus, Biofoam, etc are another method used to eliminate or prevent the spread of the virus. Ensure adequate contact time and concentrations by reading the label and ensuring proper use".

Also more food for thought is the World Health Organization's view on it way back in 2007 which may or may not be applicable to us as to in the here and now of 2024. Link:
"Review of latest available evidence on potential transmission of avian influenza (H5N1) through water and sewage and ways to reduce the risks to human health"
Last updated 10/10/2007: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/204275/WHO_SDE_WSH_06.1_eng.pdf?sequence=1

...Just One of the many statements made by the W.H.O in the aforementioned study/link...
"No specific information is available on factors affecting the persistence of H5N1 virus in sewage or on the effect of waste treatment processes on H5N1 concentrations. Virus concentrations are reduced at different rates and to various extents in both human and animal waste treatment processes, depending on conditions, but they are not completely eliminated".

Please feel free to reply with any studies or comments you feel relevant to this topic.







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