HONOLULU - The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) State Laboratories Division has detected H5 avian influenza (bird flu) in a wastewater sample collected on Dec. 2 at the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant on Hawai?i Island.  

This is the first detection of bird flu on a neighbor island and indicates an H5 type of bird flu virus was present. Wastewater testing cannot determine if the detection is specifically the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 subtype of bird flu virus which was recently found on O?ahu. 

The presence of the H5N1 virus in Hawai?i was first confirmed in November 2024 in a backyard flock of birds in Central O?ahu. That virus strain was a different genotype of the virus that has infected birds and dairy cows on the U.S. mainland. 

While the risk to the public remains low, HPAI can cause severe illness with a high mortality rate among certain bird populations such as poultry. Commercial poultry producers and residents with backyard flocks are strongly advised to increase biosecurity measures to reduce the likelihood of infection. HPAI can also infect dairy cows. While pasteurized milk is safe, raw milk should be avoided.

 To report multiple or unusual illnesses in poultry, livestock, or other wild birds or animals, contact HDOA Animal Industry Division at 808-483-7102, Monday to Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or 808-837-8092 during non-business hours and holidays.

Residents who believe they may have been exposed to sick birds or other wildlife should contact the Disease Outbreak Control Division Disease Reporting Line at 808-586-4586 for additional guidance.

Resources on avian influenza:

- HDOA, Animal Disease Control: https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/ai/ldc/avian-influenza-information/

- HDOA, Avian Influenza - Biosecurity in The Context of Animal Agriculture: https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/ai/ldc/adconcerns/aiinfo/biosec/

- DOH avian influenza information: https://health.hawaii.gov/docd/disease_listing/avian-influenza/

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/index.html

- U.S. Department of Agriculture: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza