California declares bird flu emergency

California's Dem governor, Gavin Newsom, has declared a state of emergency for bird flu among dairy cattle, a clear recognition of the increasing severity of the spread of the infection. The announcement came after news that a man in Louisiana had been hospitalised for the first serious case of avian influenza in humans in the US. The patient was admitted to hospital in Louisiana, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. There have been a total of 61 cases in the US but all the others were mild. The new patient was exposed to sick and dead birds in flocks of farm animals.

California was not among the first states to detect the avian influenza virus, H5N1, in dairy cattle. But since the first identification of an infected herd in late August, the state's Department of Agriculture has found the virus in 645 dairy farms, about half of them in the past 30 days alone.

The emergency proclamation provides state and local authorities with the resources they need to contain the outbreak, including hiring staff or issuing contracts. "This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure that government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak," Newsom explained. "While the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary measures to prevent the spread of this virus," the state governor added.