California has declared a state of emergency for H5N1 bird flu amid fears that the virus could jump to people and start to spread.
The move comes in response to a major outbreak of the virus among the state’s cattle which has spilled over and infected dozens of dairy workers.
The announcement follows news that an individual in Louisiana was hospitalized with H5N1, becoming the country’s first severe case.
The declaration of emergency gives California state and local resources to contain the outbreak, including hiring staff or issuing contracts for things like tests or personal protective equipment (PPE).
Governor Gavin Newsom said the move would free up funds and ‘streamline and expedite’ the state’s efforts to tackle the outbreak.
California also declared an emergency over the Covid pandemic, which was lifted in February 2023 after nearly three years.
California has identified H5N1 in 645 dairy herds since its first detection in late August and nearly half of those were reported in the past 30 days, highlighting the rapid spread of the virus.
Thirty-four of the US’ 61 human bird flu cases have also been in California.
California has declared a state of emergency over the emerging bird flu pandemic (stock of workers wearing hazmat suits). The above shows workers in tthe Eden Valley, Minnesota, in 2015. They were responding to a bird flu outbreak at a poultry farm
Many commentators, including officials at the World Health Organization, have criticized the U.S. response to the outbreak.
Experts have described it as a pandemic ‘unfolding in slow motion.’
Until last month, nearly all testing of cattle and of people exposed to infected cows voluntary.
Announcing the state of emergency today, Newsom said: ‘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.’
The CDC also insists the risk of H5N1 to people is low and there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, which would be needed to cause a large outbreak.
There have been 61 official human cases since 2023, with the CDC identifying seven more ‘probable’ cases.
Thirty-seven of the 61 cases have been traced to interaction with infected cattle, with the remaining infections caused either by diseases birds or an unknown source.
The outbreak of H5N1 in dairy cattle is thought to have begun in Texas early this year. As of Wednesday, 865 infected herds had been identified in 16 states.
But there is growing concern among experts that if allowed to spread unchallenged, the virus will evolve to infect people better.
Every time the virus spreads, particularly between two different species, it acquires mutations which could change the way it behaves.
The US already has a stockpile of about 20million bird flu vaccines in its national stockpile, officials say, which are ‘well matched’ to the H5N1 virus.
It also has the capacity to quickly make 100million more if necessary. There are also supplies of antivirals such as oseltamivir — used to treat the latest US bird flu patient — available.
There is work ongoing to develop a bird flu vaccine for poultry and tests showing human antivirals work just as well on sick cows.
The above map shows bird flu cases by state in the US that have been recorded this year. The cases are among people
California’s governor has signed more than 20 state of emergencies this year covering all or part of the state. Many of these have been linked to wild fires.
A state of emergency is a formal declaration issued when a significant threat or crisis occurs — such as a natural disaster like flooding, a wildfire or a disease outbreak.
It enables state agencies to use emergency funds and sign contracts with more staff to tackle an emerging threat.
In 2020 when the Covid emergency was declared, Newsom said that the emergency would allow authorities to access more medical supplies ‘without hurdles.’
After California, Washington state has the second highest number of H5N1 infections in people at 11, and Colorado the third highest at 10 people.
The above shows detections of bird flu in wastewater. There is a cluster of detections in the California area
Governor Gavin Newsom released this image along with his emergency declaration
California is also one of two states that has conducted recalls of raw milk after these were found to be contaminated with bird flu.
Almost all milk sold in the US goes through pasteurization, where the milk is quickly heated and cooled to kill off any viruses or bacteria that may be lurking in it.
But raw milk does not go through this process, with experts having raised concerns that this could lead to it transmitting bird flu to consumers.
Earlier this month officials were probing a case of a child who was sickened with bird flu in California to establish whether they caught the disease from raw milk.
In the Louisiana case reported today, investigators say the individual who had fallen severely ill likely caught the disease after handling sick and dead birds in a backyard poultry flock.
No further details on their symptoms were released other than they were ‘severely ill’ with the virus.
The patient is currently being treated in a local hospital and it is not thought that they passed on the infection to others.
The CDC said the patient was infected with the D1.1 strain of the virus, which is linked to wild birds and domestic poultry.
It differs from the strain that is currently circulating among cattle.
