Newsom declares State of Emergency over bird flu virus
LOS ANGELES - California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency Wednesday over the ongoing spread of bird flu.
The State of Emergency will help streamline and expedite the state’s response to the virus. It will also provide state and local agencies with additional flexibility around staffing, contracting, and other rules.
Cases were detected in dairy cows on farms in Southern California.
This proclamation comes less than a month after the bird flu virus was detected in samples of raw milk sold in California.
Whole raw milk produced and packaged by Fresno County-based Raw Farm LLC was recalled after the virus was found in a retail sample.
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Recently, two cats in Los Angeles County died after consuming the recalled milk and a child in Northern California tested positive for the virus, becoming the first child in the US to be infected. It's unclear if the child consumed the recalled milk.
To date, no person-to-person spread of bird flu has been detected in California and nearly all infected individuals had exposure to infected cattle, the state said in a statement.
The virus spread in 16 states among dairy cattle. It was first detected in Texas and Kansas in March of 2024.
There have been 34 reported human cases of bird flu in California, with all but one of them definitively linked to infected cattle, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak. Building on California’s testing and monitoring system — the largest in the nation — we are committed to further protecting public health, supporting our agriculture industry, and ensuring that Californians have access to accurate, up-to-date information. 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.