Los Angeles, December 19 (IANS). Gavin Newsom, Governor of the US state of California, has declared a state of emergency in the wake of the outbreak of avian influenza A (H5N1). H5N1 is known colloquially as bird flu.
This flu has infected 34 people in the Golden State of the province.
The action was taken Wednesday after cases of bird flu were found in cows on farms in Southern California, according to the governor's office.
The statement said that after the cases were found in dairy cows, “the need was felt to increase surveillance and take a coordinated statewide approach to prevent and reduce the spread of the virus.”
According to news agency Xinhua, a press release issued by the office said that to date there has been no confirmed person-to-person spread of bird flu in California and almost all infected persons had come in contact with infected cattle. . Additionally, the province has already established the largest testing and surveillance system in the country to respond to this outbreak.
Data from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed that as of Wednesday, the H5N1 virus had been confirmed in dairy cattle in 16 states, with Texas and Kansas first confirming it in March 2024.
CDC said that since April this year, 61 cases of humans getting infected with bird flu have been reported. He said that on Wednesday, a person in Louisiana had to be admitted to the hospital due to his critical condition.
The CDC office said no cases of person-to-person transmission have been reported in California, although people who contracted the virus came in contact with infected cows.
The California Department of Public Health said in an update on December 13 that the virus has been confirmed in 33 cows so far.
California has also sent protective equipment to dairy farms and their workers, and people working with cows or raw milk are encouraged to use this equipment to reduce the risk of contracting the virus, according to the Department of Public Health website. Have advised.
The first case of bird flu in the US was reported in January 2022 when it was confirmed in wild birds in South Carolina. It was detected in wild birds in California in July 2022.
–IANS
AKS/AKJ
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