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California declares state of emergency over bird flu

Updated Dec 19, 2024, 11:38am EST
North America
Poultry samples to test for bird flu
Amanda Perobelli/Reuters
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The News

The US state of California has declared an emergency over the spread of avian flu among both birds and livestock, with cattle and dairy cows increasingly affected. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the declaration was meant to be “proactive,” coming after more cases were detected in dairy cows in southern California and the country’s first severe human case of the disease was reported in Louisiana.

The Louisiana patient caught the virus after being exposed to sick and dead birds, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The risk of the disease spreading among humans or to the general public remains low, the public health agency added.

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Know More

The bird flu outbreak has been ongoing for two years, but since it crossed into cows, public health officials have become increasingly concerned about human contagion. The CDC has since warned consumers not to drink unpasteurized milk, which can harbor the virus.

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There have been more than 60 confirmed cases of bird flu in people this year in the US, with more than half in California — none of these have been caused by human-to-human transmission, according to officials.

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