California State Governor Gavin Newsom Dec. 18 afternoon issued a state of emergency to expedite the state’s response to avian flu, also known as bird flu.
An estimated 61 cases of bird flu have been reported in 16 states across the US, though health officials believe this is an undercount. Newsom took his action after the first severe case of bird flu was reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: in that case, the individual was hospitalized. Additionally, dairy cows in Southern California have been infected.
Preventing Spread
“This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak,” said Newsom in a statement. “Building on California’s testing and monitoring system — the largest in the nation — we are committed to further protecting public health, supporting our agriculture industry, and ensuring that Californians have access to accurate, up-to-date information. While the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of this virus.”
At an Ethnic Media Services news briefing last spring, Dr. Maurice Pitesky, associate professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, who focuses on highly pathogenic avian influenza disease modeling, predicted that the next major pandemic of Covid-like proportions will likely be avian flu. The disease has already killed millions of poultry and waterfall, and infected herds of cattle.
Existential Threat
Workers in poultry and dairy industries are at a unique risk for catching an infection: humans who have close contact with sick birds can catch the virus when it gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled. Wearing Tyvek suits, gloves, masks and other personal protective equipment can be extremely challenging in the immense heat, said Pitesky.
Immigrants make up 56% of workers in the meatpacking industry and 28% of workers in the poultry industry, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute.
Bird flu is extremely deadly in humans, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, professor of Medicine and director of the immuno-compromised host infectious diseases program at the University of California, San Francisco.
It appears like a very bad flu, but the fatality rate is much higher, he said, predicting the likelihood of a pandemic “in the medium term.”
Deadly
“The reason why it’s so deadly initially in humans is because we’re not used to seeing this kind of infection. It’s almost like the early days of COVID. So we don’t have the necessary immune system to target it,” said Chin-Hong.
Both researchers believe there is a severe undercount in the number of reported cases of bird flu.
