Indiana University researchers are developing a system to detect avian flu in waterways before the virus reaches poultry farms.
Drew Capone, an assistant professor in IU Bloomington's School of Public Health, is leading a three-year federally funded project that will monitor streams, rivers and other waterways for signs of highly pathogenic avian influenza circulating among wild birds.
The project began in May with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Researchers eventually plan to turn the data into a public dashboard poultry producers can use to determine when the virus is circulating near their farms.
Capone said the idea is like wastewater surveillance used to monitor COVID-19.
"We're building out this project to do something analogous for avian influenza, with the hope that we can find a similar signal in watersheds in Indiana to let poultry producers know that the virus is circulating in their area, and that they should ramp up their biosecurity practices," Capone said.
Wild bird migrations are a major source of avian flu transmission, making outbreaks more difficult to predict and control.
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Indiana already monitors the virus in wild birds through methods including testing hunter-harvested ducks and investigating reports of dead birds. Capone said those methods can tell health officials where the virus has been, but often only after transmission is already underway.
"The challenge with that is that's very much a lagging indicator when we're primarily relying on dead birds and testing carcasses," Capone said.
His team hopes testing waterways can detect the virus earlier, before large numbers of wild birds die or the disease reaches commercial poultry operations.
Capone said outbreaks can be devastating to local economies. A nationwide outbreak in late 2024 and early 2025 contributed to an egg shortage that pushed average prices to about $6 per dozen.
Once operational, the dashboard could serve two purposes. Farmers could increase biosecurity measures when the virus is detected nearby, while producers who avoid outbreaks could see evidence that their existing precautions are working.
Researchers also hope the project will provide a better understanding of how avian flu moves from migratory birds into poultry barns.
"We know it's coming from migratory birds," Capone said. "We don't really know, is it going from ducks and geese into songbirds and the mice and the rats and then getting in?"
Capone said understanding that pathway could eventually help researchers find additional ways to prevent outbreaks before they reach Indiana poultry farms.
