California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in response to an outbreak of Avian influenza A (H5N1), commonly known as bird flu, which has infected 34 people in the state, the CBS reported.
The declaration, made on Wednesday, followed the detection of cases of dairy cows on farms in Southern California. According to the governor's office, this development highlights the need to enhance monitoring efforts and strengthen the statewide response to contain and mitigate the virus's spread.
A press release from the governor's office stated that no person-to-person transmission of bird flu has been identified in California. Nearly all infected individuals had direct contact with infected cattle. According to the Xinhua news agency, the state has already implemented the largest testing and monitoring system in the country to address the outbreak, news agency IANS reported.
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According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the H5N1 virus has now spread across 16 states among dairy cattle after its initial detection in Texas and Kansas in March 2024. Nationwide, 61 human cases of H5N1 have been reported since April, including a severe case recently confirmed in Louisiana.
However, in California, no cases of person-to-person transmission have been reported. Most individuals infected in the state were exposed to infected cows. The California Department of Public Health reported on December 13 that 33 cows had tested positive for the virus.
To mitigate risks, California has distributed protective gear to dairy farms and advised workers handling cows or raw milk to use it, according to the Department of Public Health's website.
Bird flu was first identified in wild birds in the U.S. in South Carolina in January 2022 and later detected in California's wild bird population in July 2022.
