On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of
emergency over the bird flu. In the proclamation, Newsom wrote that "all
residents are to obey the direction of emergency officials with regard to
this emergency in order to protect their safety."

The proclamation stated that avian influenza A (H5N1) was first detected
in the US wild bird population in South Carolina in January 2022, and
that an outbreak of the bird flu was first reported in dairy cows in March
2024. The first case recorded in California in a dairy cow was on August
30, 2024. Since then, 61 dairies have confirmed positive tests for the bird
flu across nine counties in Central California.

Despite testing and containment efforts, dairy cows at four Southern
California dairies tested positive for bird flu on December 12, 2024,
"necessitating a shift from regional containment to statewide monitoring
and response to active cases." The document noted that since March,
there have been 61 human cases reported across eight states, 34 of
which were in California.

The document stated that there are currently 985 dairies currently under
surveillance testing across the state by the California Department of
Food and Agriculture and 614 dairies under quarantine.