California Declares State of Emergency In Response to Bird Flu Outbreak

USDA/FPAC photo by Preston Keres

California Governor Gavin Newsome declared an emergency in an attempt to contain a bird flu outbreak that has been spreading in the state’s dairy herd. The declaration will give state and local agencies more flexibility around staffing, contracting and other response efforts.

Newsome said this is a targeted action to ensure agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak. More than half of the 61 human cases of U.S. bird flu infections have occurred in California, where nearly 650 dairy herds have been affected.

This announcement was made as a Louisiana resident was hospitalized with bird flu. This is the first severe case of human bird flu in the U.S. This patient was exposed to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks, and the bird flu strain is different from the variant spreading among dairy cows. The CDC reports that an investigation into the source of the exposure is ongoing.

The CDC said sporadic cases of severe illness aren’t unexpected and have occurred in other countries. The risk to humans remains low.

Read more about California declaring a bird flu state of emergency here.