California declares emergency over bird flu outbreak

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency Wednesday over the H5N1 bird flu outbreak.

The virus, which has now spread among dairy cattle in 16 states, was detected in 645 California dairies — almost half of them in the last 30 days.

The Golden State first detected cases in cattle in August.

There hasn’t been any person-to-person spread of bird flu in California, and nearly all infected individuals had exposure to infected cattle.

The state of emergency is intended to expand monitoring and to provide state and local agencies resources for their response to mitigate the spread of the virus, the governor’s office said in a news release.

Of the 645 impacted dairies, 56 have recovered and been released from quarantine, the press release said.

“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, adding that the risk to the public remains low.

“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,” he added.

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