US Bird Flu: California Declares Emergency; Severe Case in Louisiana

Facts

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for bird flu (H5N1) Wednesday while, at the same time, federal officials confirmed the first severe case of bird flu in a Louisiana resident — who is hospitalized in critical condition after exposure to infected backyard poultry.^[1][2]
• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Louisiana incident is the first human case in the US linked to exposure to backyard birds. Meanwhile, at least 649 herds have tested positive in California for H5N1 since August, while 61 people have been infected nationally since April.^[3]
• Newsom said the emergency declaration is "a targeted action" to respond quickly to the outbreak. It comes after more bird flu cases were detected in Southern California dairy cows and 34 of the 61 human cases were found in California.^[4]
• The Louisiana patient's infection involves the D1.1 genotype, which differs from the B3.13 strain found in dairy cattle and matches recent cases in British Columbia and Washington state.^[5][6]
• Bird flu has infected more than 860 dairy herds in 16 US states since March and killed 123M poultry since the outbreak began in 2022. The Department of Agriculture has enrolled 13 states in a new national bulk milk bird flu testing plan, covering nearly half of the nation's milk supply.^[6]
• While the CDC maintains that the risk to the general public remains low, the virus has reportedly shown mutations that could potentially enable airborne transmission between mammals.^[5][7][8]

Sources: ^[1]Breitbart, ^[2]Archive, ^[3]New York Post, ^[4] CBS, ^[5]Los Angeles Times, ^[6]Reuters, ^[7]NPR Online News and ^[8]Nature.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Los Angeles Times and Governor of California. The rapid spread of bird flu through dairy herds and the emergence of severe human cases represent a serious threat to public health and agriculture. The state of emergency is crucial to streamline and expedite California's response to avoid potential mutations. It's already a pandemic in birds — these containment measures can prevent bird flu from becoming a pandemic in humans. California's preparedness might need to be modeled nationwide.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The current situation poses minimal risk to the general public, with most human cases remaining mild. Existing food safety measures, including pasteurization, continue to effectively protect consumers from any potential exposure through dairy products. There has been no documented spread of the virus from person to person — there is no need to panic as bird flu is still an animal health issue.