On Sep. 11, 2024, researchers at UTHealth Houston and Baylor College of Medicine reported that Avian influenza A(H5N1) virus, which spread to cattle and infected 14 people this year, was detected using virome sequencing in the wastewater of 10 Texas cities. The virome is the collection of viruses in a sample, in this case a wastewater sample.

Until March 2024, H5N1 had not been detected in 1,337 wastewater samples analyzed by the team. But from March 4 to July 15 (the end of data collection for this article), H5N1 was detected in 10 of 10 cities, 22 of 23 sites, and 100 of 399 samples. The report results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.