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State of emergency issued over bird flu after infected cows found in SoCal
Dairy cows at a farm on July 05, 2022 in Visalia, California.
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Spencer Platt
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Topline:
Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency over California’s bird flu problem. The move comes as infected dairy cattle were found outside of the Central Valley in four Southern California dairies last week, likely a first under this outbreak.
What’s happening: The declaration is a sign that the state is ramping up efforts to control further spread. Newsom said the proclamation will help government agencies have the resources and flexibility needed to quickly respond, such as with staffing and contracting.
Why now? The declaration comes after the CDC confirmed the first U.S. severe human case of bird flu in Louisiana on Wednesday. In California, where we’ve had 34 cases so far, symptoms have generally been mild with no person-to-person spread. Risk to the general public is still considered low, but dairy workers have been more affected.
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Why it matters: California accounts for about 18% of the nation’s milk production. So far, 645 dairies have had infected cows here since the first detection in August. But bird flu has only been known to show up on store shelves in unpasteurized milk brands, prompting statewide recalls of Raw Farms products and now Valley Milk Simply Bottled. The pasteurization process effectively kills the bird flu virus, according to the FDA.
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