California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that an outbreak of the H5N1 avian influenza virus among the state’s dairy cattle constitutes an emergency as the contagion continues to spread.
Avian influenza has been detected in cattle in 16 states after it was first identified in livestock in Texas and Kansas in March of this year. While no cases of human-to-human transmission have been identified, Newsom’s office said “almost all” people who have contracted the virus have contracted it through infected cattle.
Newsom said the risk to the public “remains low” for now, but pledged to take “all necessary steps to prevent the spread of this virus.”
“This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak,” he said in a statement.
“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,” he added.
A total of 61 people in 16 states in the US have been infected with H5N1. More than half of those who have become ill live in California. In the state of Louisiana, one of those who contracted the virus is carrying the disease in a severe form.
