SACRAMENTO – California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday “to streamline and accelerate the state’s response to avian influenza.”

The declaration comes as additional cases were discovered in cows on dairy farms in Southern California.

The governor’s office says the emergency proclamation will give state and local governments additional flexibility in areas such as staffing and contracting.

There is no confirmed human-to-human transmission of the virus, as nearly all cases in California involve people who came into contact with infected cattle.

Bird flu in the USA

Avian influenza was first detected in the United States in January 2022 in the wild bird population in South Carolina and six months later in California.

An outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows was first reported in Texas and Kansas in March. Since then, a total of 61 confirmed human cases of bird flu infection have been reported in seven states, including 34 human cases in California.

After being detected in 13 other states, bird flu was confirmed in August in a dairy cow in central California.

On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first serious case of bird flu in the United States.

A person over 65 with underlying medical conditions is listed in critical condition at a hospital in Louisiana. Officials say the patient is suffering from a severe respiratory illness related to an avian flu infection.