California Declares State of Emergency Over Bird Flu

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in response to the outbreak of Avian influenza A (H5N1), commonly known as bird flu, which has infected 34 people in the state.

The governor’s office announced the declaration on Wednesday, noting that cases were detected in dairy cows on farms in Southern California. This development signaled the need for expanded monitoring and a coordinated statewide approach to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus.

As of now, no person-to-person transmission of bird flu has been detected in California. Nearly all of the infected individuals had exposure to infected cattle, according to a press release from the governor’s office. The state has already established the largest testing and monitoring system in the country to address the outbreak, the statement added.

As of Wednesday, the H5N1 virus has spread to 16 states among dairy cattle, with its first confirmed detections in Texas and Kansas in March 2024, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Nationwide, there have been 61 reported human cases of bird flu since April, with the CDC confirming a person in Louisiana was hospitalized with a “severe” case of the disease on Wednesday. However, no person-to-person transmission has been reported in California, the governor’s office confirmed. Those who have been infected in the state were exposed to the virus through infected cows.

On December 13, California’s Department of Public Health reported that 33 cows had tested positive for the virus. The state has also provided protective gear to dairy farms and their workers, advising people who work with cows or raw milk to use the gear to reduce the risk of contracting the virus, according to the department’s website.

Bird flu was first detected in the U.S. in the wild bird population in South Carolina in January 2022, and in California’s wild bird population in July 2022.