California officers have declared a state of emergency amid rising fears over avian influenza. The virus has swept by way of dairy herds throughout the state and triggered sporadic circumstances in people, with the first severe human bird flu case in the U.S. reported in Louisiana on Wednesday (Dec. 18).
In a statement released Dec. 18, Governor Gavin Newsom’s workplace stated that the motion got here “as circumstances have been detected in dairy cows on farms in Southern California, signaling the necessity to additional broaden monitoring and construct on the coordinated statewide method to comprise and mitigate the unfold of the virus.”
To date, no person-to-person unfold of the virus has been reported within the U.S. and nearly all of contaminated people have had recognized exposure to infected cattle or poultry.
Why has California declared a state of emergency?
The virus H5N1 is a subtype of avian influenza, or chicken flu. The virus is unfold primarily by way of wild and home birds. However, it could additionally leap to mammals, comparable to dairy cows and sometimes people.
Since the start of 2024, a multistate outbreak of the virus has affected 866 dairy herds throughout the U.S., in keeping with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Roughly 75% of those have been in California, largely within the state’s Central Valley.
Related: How to avoid bird flu
Thirty-four of the nation’s 61 confirmed human chicken flu circumstances have additionally been reported in California, together with the first infected child.
Newsom stated that the emergency proclamation was a proactive measure to make sure state and native companies have the assets and suppleness they should reply quickly to the outbreak.
“While the chance to the general public stays low, we are going to proceed to take all crucial steps to forestall the unfold of this virus,” Newsom stated within the assertion.
What are chicken flu signs?
With the exception of the affected person in Louisiana, nearly all of human chicken flu infections to date have been delicate.
According to the CDC, chicken flu might have the next signs:
- Eye redness
- Fever
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nostril
- Muscle and physique aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
Flu specialists have stated that it’s too early to say whether or not this might grow to be a extra extreme outbreak, and flu viruses are consistently altering and mutating. A latest examine targeted on an H5N1 pressure from a cow instructed {that a} single gene mutation may enable the virus to spread between people, and the an infection could become more dangerous if it starts to mix with other seasonal flu viruses. However, the CDC says that the chance to most of the people is presently nonetheless low.
This article is for informational functions solely and isn’t meant to supply medical recommendation.
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