California Governor Declares 'Bird Flu State of Emergency'

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, issued an emergency declaration Wednesday in response to bird flu cases in the state.

Bird flu is mostly found in poultry and wild birds with 123.7 million birds infected as of Monday and 10,852 wild birds infected as of Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced at the end of October that the first case of bird flu in a pig was discovered in Oregon, foreign media write, Telegraph reports.

The virus has even spread to humans with a total of 61 confirmed cases in eight states, the CDC says.

In 37 cases the patient was exposed to infected cattle. Meanwhile, 21 infected people were exposed to birds.

Most of the bird flu cases, 34 to be exact, have been from California.

Meanwhile, health officials say the risk to humans from bird flu remains low.

Bird flu can spread from infected birds to animals and humans. No person-to-person spread of the virus has been detected.

Meanwhile, the first known serious illness in the US caused by bird flu was confirmed by the CDC last week and announced on Wednesday.

A person in Louisiana was hospitalized in critical condition with severe respiratory symptoms from a bird flu infection, according to state health officials.

The patient had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock, according to the CDC.

California has worked to minimize avian flu exposures to farm workers, reduce contamination of raw dairy products, and make the spread of the virus less severe.

State efforts have included distributing millions of pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to high-risk dairy farm workers and using social media to promote practices that prevent the spread of the virus. /Telegraph/