This week's wastewater testing shows three detections of H5N1 (avian) flu in OR (of eight nationwide): two in Clackamas County, one in Jackson County (Ashland area)
After a week of no detections in OR (though many locations weren't reporting over Spring Break), the CDC reports three detections of H5N1 (avian) flu in Oregon. H5N1 was found in two locations in Clackamas County and one in the Ashland area of Jackson County.
I'm going to add a personal note for those concerned about communicable diseases here in OR - something that I shared in a comment on another post about potential measles exposure in Portland this week:
Though measles was not detected in wastewater this week in OR, there have been detections in neighbouring states: one in Sacramento County and another in Kootenai County, ID (Cœur d'Alène). Post-Spring Break exposures due to travel will likely show up in next week's report.
I had a bit of a shock last week when my measles titer came back low, showing NO IMMUNITY, despite having had a dose of MMR in the 80s. This is of concern for anyone born between 1960 and 1980 - as the pre-MMR vaccines of the 60s have been shown to offer questionable (if any) protection, and the two-shot MMR protocol wasn't adopted until the mid-80s.
As someone born in the 1960s, I was alerted to the issue with my vaccination status by my physician mother in the 80s, and was able to obtain an MMR at that time - which, I believed, gave me sufficient coverage for measles. The test results I received last week proved me wrong.
The day after receiving these results, I was able to obtain an MMR at my local Fred Meyer. For anyone born between 1958 and 1971 it should be covered by insurance, and I strongly recommend that anyone born between these dates go in to your local Dead Fred's and get yourself vaccinated without delay.
For those born in the 1970s - and, potentially, early 80s - who received only one dose of the MMR, you might discuss the possibility of checking your measles titer with your doctor. Even if your insurance doesn't cover it, you might consider the approximately $100 cost worth your peace of mind. As mentioned, I was shocked to find out that I was not immune, despite having had a single dose of MMR already.
You can check out this explainer for a little more information. According to KFF, last year Oregon fell below the herd immunity standard of a 95% vaccination rate of kindergarten students, with 92% coverage.
ETA: Thanks to u/jgoose132113 for the reminder: the nightly migration forecast can be found here.