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Salem committee keeps $25,000 wastewater H5N1 surveillance request in committee
Summary
A City of Salem administration and finance committee voted to leave a request for a $25,000 appropriation for one year of wastewater testing for highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in committee, after hearing public comment and a Board of Health update.
The City of Salem administration and finance committee voted on April 24 to keep in committee a request to appropriate $25,000 to pay BioBot Analytics for one year of wastewater surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1).
The request, presented to the A&F committee by Councilor Merkel, would have funded one year of testing and laboratory analysis that BioBot Analytics would perform on Salem wastewater samples. The committee's report noted the item had been discussed by the Salem Board of Health at its April 8 meeting.
Board of Health data presented to the committee said the U.S. human mortality rate for reported H5N1 cases is low (the committee report summarized the Board as citing about a 1.4–1.8 percent mortality rate) and that, to date, known human-to-human spread was zero. Committee members and public commenters raised questions about local animal registration and monitoring and about the geographic spread of municipal testing in Massachusetts. Committee members asked which treatment plants in the state were already doing testing; Dave Greenbaum, the city's health agent, identified Lowell (Duck Island), Deer Island (Boston), Millbury (Upper Blackstone), Chicopee and Springfield as locations conducting wastewater surveillance.
Public comment included remarks from Andy Varela, a local farmer, who offered to work with the Board of Health on permitting or registration policies for backyard chickens and livestock, and from Councilor Mercillo, who urged caution and said she favored keeping the request in committee so the city could act quickly if surveillance data warranted it. Councilor Watsonfeld moved to leave the request in committee; Councilor Stott seconded the motion. The committee voted unanimously to keep the matter in committee.
The A&F committee report recorded that members will continue to track state and regional wastewater testing activity and Board of Health guidance; no appropriation was approved at this meeting.
The item will return to committee if future data or Board of Health recommendations change the committee's assessment.
