Gov. Gavin Newsom declares state of emergency over bird flu outbreak

December 18, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday to further enhance the state’s preparedness and accelerate the ongoing cross-agency response efforts over the bird flu outbreak. The bird flu has spread across 16 states.

To date, there have been 34 confirmed cases of bird flu in humans in California. However, there are no reported person-to-person spread cases of bird flu detected in California and nearly all infected individuals had exposure to infected cattle.

The bird flu is spread among birds and cattle. Multiple dairy cows in Southern California have tested positive for bird flu.

“This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak,” Newsom Wrote. “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.”

The risk to human remains low.