California's bird flu crisis worsens as two new cases are confirmed: All you want to know

California's bird flu crisis has deepened as two new confirmed cases have been found in Stanislaus and Los Angeles counties. The cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) has been on rise and has infected 659 of California's 984 dairy operations since August. The past month has seen nearly one-quarter of the total cases, according to California authorities, sounding alarm bells for the potential impact on poultry industries, food supply chains, and public health.

The alarming rate of spread has prompted California Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency on December 18. There are at least 65 confirmed human cases of bird flu nationally with at least 36 in California, as per CDC.

"This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak," Newsom said in a statement last week.

Rise in human cases of bird flu in California

The spread of the virus among human population has led to concerns. The abovementioned two new cases were exposed to livestock infected with bird flu. Both of them had mild symptoms and were treated with antiviral medications, as per the health departments of the two counties. It is suspected that the actual count is higher than official confirmation.

The virus has been detected in several Bay Are locations including San Francisco, Napa, and San Jose. However California State Epidemiologist Erica Pan told ABC30 that these detections might be primarily due to "residential or other commercial milk dumping down in the sinks."

Risk to public low, but virus deadly for livestock

Health officials have stated that the risk to the general public remains low. However, the virus is devastating for livestock, killing 90% to 100% of infected poultry and approximately 1% to 2% of cows. California State Veterinarian Annette M. Jones highlighted that even cows that survive the infection may never fully recover.

Symptoms of bird flu

Mild symptoms of no symptoms are reported among people infected with bird flu. These include red sore eyes (conjunctivitis) or mild respiratory symptoms. However, some strains of bird flu can cause symptoms similar to severe human flu like fever, cough, tiredness, muscle aches, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, headache. Other life-threatening symptoms include pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and diarrhea. Symptoms may appear between 1 and 10 days following exposure.