California has declared a state of emergency over bird flu, fearing it could jump to humans and spread.
It comes just hours after an American in Louisiana was first hospitalized with a serious case of the H5N1 bird flu.
Governor Gavin Newsom today declared a state of emergency, saying it would free up money and “streamline and expedite” the state’s efforts to combat the virus.
California has recorded just over half of all bird flu infections diagnosed in humans this year, or 32 of a total of 61 cases.
Testing at the vast majority of wastewater sites – or more than 80 percent – has now also detected the H5N1 virus.
But the cases are all linked to exposure to livestock, or wild or domestic birds, and there are no signs the virus has spread from person to person in the state — which would be necessary to cause a pandemic.
Newsom said:This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to quickly respond to this outbreak.
“Building on California’s testing and monitoring system – the largest in the nation – we strive to further protect public health, support our agricultural sector (and) ensure Californians have access to accurate, up-to-date information.
California has declared a state of emergency due to the emerging avian flu pandemic (number of workers wearing protective suits)
‘While the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of this virus.’
State officials said the decision to declare a state of emergency was made after H5N1 was discovered in livestock in the southern part of the state.
Overall, bird flu has now spread to more than 800 cattle herds in 16 states after it was first detected in cattle in Texas in the spring.
A total of eight states have diagnosed bird flu in humans, with Washington having the second highest number of infections with 11 people and Colorado the third highest with 10 people.
Infectious disease experts have repeatedly expressed concern about the infections, warning that any infection increases the risk of the virus acquiring mutations that could allow it to spread between people.
In California, the first case of bird flu was discovered in the state’s dairy cows on August 30, and the first human case was discovered in a dairy farm worker on October 3.
This is a breaking news story. It’s being updated…
The above map shows bird flu cases by state in the US recorded this year. The cases are among humans
The above shows detections of bird flu in wastewater. There is a cluster of detections in the California region