California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation on Wednesday in response to growing concerns over bird flu cases in the state and across the country.The State of Emergency proclamation comes after more bird flu cases were detected in Southern California dairy cows, the governor’s office stated. Wednesday also saw the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report the first severe illness in a person due to bird flu from a Louisiana case.”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.
As health and public officials note, to date there have been no recorded cases of person-to-person spread of bird flu in California.
Still, across the US, the CDC has recorded a total of 61 human cases of bird flu across 16 states so far – with more than half of those cases, 34, being in California.
