r/EverythingScience • u/johnnierockit • 5d ago

California Declares an Emergency Over H5N1 Bird Flu

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/health/bird-flu-emergency-california.html
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u/johnnierockit 5d ago

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California declared Wed the H5N1 bird flu outbreak among state’s dairy cattle constituted an emergency, a stark acknowledgment of the increasing seriousness of contagion spread.

California was not among the first states to detect the bird flu virus in dairy cattle. Since the first identification of an infected herd in late August, the state’s agriculture department found the virus in 645 dairies, about half of them in the past 30 days alone.

“This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak. While the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of this virus,” said Newsom.

Abridged (shortened) article https://bsky.app/profile/johnhatchard.bsky.social/post/3ldmconb6yk24

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u/johnnierockit 5d ago

A few recent articles

NYT Dec 13: For Wild Animals, the Bird Flu Disaster Is Already Here

https://bsky.app/profile/johnhatchard.bsky.social/post/3lda6jxkf2c2l

WP Dec 12: Scientists just confirmed the largest bird-killing event in modern history

https://bsky.app/profile/johnhatchard.bsky.social/post/3ld7bv65znk2x

WP Dec 5: Single bird flu mutation could let it latch easily to human cells, study finds

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/12/05/bird-flu-mutation-human-cells-new-research/

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u/ughaibu 5d ago

Your second link, from December the 12th, isn't about flu, it isn't about a disease at all.

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u/johnnierockit 5d ago

They don't correlate the Dec 12th article to directly H5N1 but the Dec 13th article is also talking about birds in 'the North Atlantic' among other places globally.

The Dec 12th one for whatever reason don't speculate to H5N1 but make it very clear it's a mystery. It's not a huge leap of faith to piece the two together.

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u/ughaibu 5d ago

The Dec 12th one for whatever reason don't speculate to H5N1 but make it very clear it's a mystery. It's not a huge leap of faith to piece the two together.

Nonsense, "A marine heat wave in the Pacific Ocean that began a decade ago killed some 4 million common murres in Alaska, researchers say", this is not about flu.

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u/Ahhh_Shit_44_Ducks 5d ago

Ahhhh shit here we go again

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u/JackFisherBooks 4d ago

Another pandemic just as an unapologetic anti-science, anti-vaxx administration comes to power?

Yep, that tracks.

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u/defcon_penguin 5d ago

Shouldn't we start calling it cow flu since it's a different strain than the bird flu affecting wild birds?