'Everybody has to go to the bathroom.' Sewage surveillance shows rising flu activity in Oklahoma

Wastewater surveillance has detected increasing levels of the flu over the past few weeks in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, officials said Tuesday.

Experts urged people to take precautions, including getting a flu shot, saying a surge of flu cases and hospitalizations — combined with already increasing COVID-19 cases — could put a strain on hospitals again.

Oklahoma researchers have been using wastewater from cities across the state to track COVID-19, salmonella, influenza and other pathogens.

Both influenza A and COVID-19 levels have been increasing in recent weeks, said Dr. Katrin Kuhn, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the OU Health Sciences Center College of Public Health.

Flu surveillance through wastewater only began about five weeks ago, so researchers don’t yet know how the concentrations of the virus in wastewater will translate into case numbers.

“But we’re definitely seeing an increase in the concentrations of influenza virus in the sewers in Oklahoma City,” Kuhn said.

More: What COVID-19 had to do with an especially mild flu season in Oklahoma

In a few more weeks, the team will be able to associate the concentrations of the virus with reported cases, Kuhn said. That will allow them to predict how many cases communities could see in the coming weeks.

Wastewater surveillance is a useful public health tool because it doesn’t rely on people getting tested or getting medical care to identify the virus, she said. In monitoring for the virus that causes COVID-19, wastewater can give about a week's heads-up on rising cases.

Detecting Omicron, delta COVID variants

The team is monitoring sewage for the new omicron variant, as well as the delta variant.

“We're actually out in front, because everybody has to go to the bathroom, and that's what gets picked up in the samples,” said Phil Maytubby, chief operating officer of the Oklahoma City-County Health Department. “So it does give us such a good advance look. We just need to pay attention and use it.”

More: A year since Oklahoma's first COVID vaccine was given, health chief reflects on saved lives

Data in MyHealth Access Network, a statewide health information exchange, also has showed a steep increase in flu positivity rates, MyHealth's founder Dr. David Kendrick said on a Healthier Coalition call Tuesday. Last year, social distancing and other COVID-19 mitigation measures kept the flu at bay, experts have said.

"The flu was definitely more of an issue this year than it was last year," Kendrick said. "Obviously, we don't have the same public health measures in place. We just want to make sure we don't take our eye off the ball of these other conditions like the flu that affect us."

Maytubby said uptake of flu vaccines has been low this season.

But it’s not too late to get a flu shot, and they can be given at the same time as COVID-19 vaccines, he said.

More: Flu season is here. When to get your flu shot and what to expect this flu season

Flu shots are recommended annually for everyone 6 months old and older.

So far this season, Oklahoma has reported 115 flu-associated hospitalizations and two deaths.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Wastewater surveillance shows rise in Oklahoma City, Tulsa flu activity