California Gov. Gavin Newsom declares state of emergency over bird flu, calling it a "proactive action"

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation on Wednesday in response to growing concerns over bird flu cases in the state and across the country.

The State of Emergency proclamation comes after more bird flu cases were detected in Southern California dairy cows, the governor's office stated. Wednesday also saw the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report the first severe illness in a person due to bird flu from a Louisiana case.

"This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak," Newsom said in a statement.

The threat to birds has been happening for a couple of years now, with wildlife hospitals observing strict infection precautions. But then it jumped to cattle, specifically dairy cattle, where bio-security measures are only now beginning to be imposed.

"We have about 600 dairies inside California right now that are in quarantine because of avian influenza," said Dr. Michael Payne, a large animal researcher at UC Davis. 

Payne said the virus has mutated to infect cattle, making them sick but not killing them.

"When it does infect them, especially lactating cows, milk cows, the virus can be excreted in concentrations inside the milk," Payne said. "And that is what we're worried about from a public health standpoint." 

As health and public officials note, to date there have been no recorded cases of person-to-person spread of bird flu in California or anywhere else.

Bird flu in humans

Across the US, the CDC has recorded a total of 61 human cases of bird flu across 16 states so far – with more than half of those cases, 34, being in California.

"It's a pandemic already in birds, and what we're trying to do is prevent it becoming a pandemic in humans," said UC San Francisco infectious disease specialist, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. "Right now, it's a dead end in terms of getting into humans because it hasn't figured out the right key to unlock the door into our bodies. But the more transmissions that occur–like in dairy cows, like in birds–the more it's going to randomly figure out that mutant, that variant, that can cause more human-to-human transmission."

While not linked to any known human case, one California raw milk dairy issued a voluntary recall earlier in December after bird flu was detected in a lot. Still, health officials have long warned against consuming unpasteurized milk due to bacteria concerns. 

Newsom also noted that California has already implemented an effort to combat bird flu by working with dairy and poultry farms to minimize farm worker exposure. Many of the confirmed cases of bird flu are linked to dairy and poultry workers, health officials have said.

"While the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of this virus," Newsom said in a statement.

As with other emergency proclamations, Newsom noted the action will open up funding for state and local agencies to respond to the bird flu situation.

California wasn't the first state to declare an emergency over the bird flu. Earlier in 2024, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued an emergency declaration for Weld County due to an outbreak there. 

The current bird flu outbreak started in 2022. Since that time, officials say more than 100 million birds have been culled by poultry farms to try and stem the disease's spread. 

Is the bird flu deadly?

H5N1 bird flu viruses are considered particularly deadly when it comes to human infections, prompting the cause for concern from public health leaders.

According to World Health Organization numbers, there have been more than 860 recorded human infections of bird flu across 19 countries since 2003 – with about 53 percent of those cases resulting in death. No deaths in the US have been reported as part of the recent outbreak.

Common human symptoms of bird flu infection are similar to the flu. The severity of the symptoms can range from none to severe. 

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