California
California declares state of emergency as US suffers first severe human case of bird flu
The U.S. reported its first severe human case of bird flu on Wednesday in a Louisiana resident who is hospitalized in critical condition after suspected contact with an infected backyard flock.
California, the most populous state, declared an emergency over the H5N1 virus as it spread more widely in dairy herds and after it has infected dozens of farm workers this year.
Federal and state officials have failed to control the nation’s outbreak, which infected dairy cattle for the first time in 2024, as some farmers resist testing and containment measures.
Severe respiratory illness in the Louisiana patient shows increased health risks for people from the virus that previously caused eye redness, or conjunctivitis, in infected dairy workers.
Bird flu still represents a low risk to the general public, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
CDC has confirmed 61 human cases nationally since April, mostly in workers on dairy farms where the virus infected cattle.
Workers culling infected poultry also have tested positive.
The patient in Louisiana is suffering severe respiratory illness, the Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement.
The person is reported to have underlying medical conditions and is over the age of 65, the department said, putting the patient at higher risk.
The case is the first to be linked to backyard, non-commercial poultry, said Demetre Daskalakis, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, on a call with reporters.
The CDC said a sporadic case of severe illness in a person with H5N1 bird flu is not unexpected as such cases have occurred in other countries in 2024 and prior years, including cases that led to death.
“The mild cases that we’ve seen in the United States largely reflect that many of the individuals are getting infected by dairy cows and that’s very different than getting infected with infected birds,” said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
“If you look at the genotype of this patient in Louisiana, it wasn’t the cattle strain. It was a wild bird strain.”
CDC said partial viral genome data from the infected patient shows that the virus belongs to the D1.1 genotype, recently detected in wild birds and poultry in the United States and in recent human cases in British Columbia, Canada, and Washington state.
This genotype of the virus is different from the B3.13 genotype detected in dairy cows, human cases in multiple states, and some poultry outbreaks in the country, CDC said.
Bird flu has infected more than 860 dairy herds in 16 states since March and killed 123 million poultry since the outbreak began in 2022.
In California, the top U.S. milk-producing state, 649 herds have tested positive since late August, roughly 60% of its herds, according to U.S. data.
Four southern California dairies tested positive on Dec. 12, “necessitating a shift from regional containment to statewide monitoring and response,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in his emergency declaration.
Earlier cases had been centered in the Central Valley in the middle of the state.
The declaration aims to streamline and expedite California’s response by allowing more flexibility for staffing, contracting and other rules, Newsom said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it has enrolled 13 states in a newly launched national bulk milk bird flu testing plan, representing nearly half of the nation’s milk supply.
A 17-year-old suspect has been arrested in Texas in connection with the deadly shooting after a high school graduation ceremony in Fairfield, California last month, police said.
Fairfield police said U.S. Marshals, accompanied by department detectives, served search and arrest warrants Friday morning at a home in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The teen was taken into custody without incident on suspicion of murder and related offenses.
Investigators said the suspect fled California and traveled to Texas within days of the June 3 shooting. He will remain in custody while awaiting extradition to Solano County.
The shooting happened after Sem Yeto Continuation High School’s graduation ceremony, which was held on the Fairfield High School campus.
Police said 18-year-old graduate Jamario Baker died at the scene. Three others – an 11-year-old child and two adults, ages 20 and 25 – were wounded.
Authorities have not released the suspect’s name because he is a minor.
Although an arrest has been made, police said the investigation remains active and detectives continue to pursue additional leads.
“While today’s announcement may provide a measure of relief to some, it does not lessen the pain felt by our community,” the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District said in a statement.
Police plan to hold a news conference Monday at 4 p.m. to discuss the case and arrest.
Fairfield is a Northern California city about 40 miles northwest of San Francisco.
A California bill would let insurers monitor customers’ driving data in exchange for discounted premiums.
Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, the author of AB 311, said the digital monitoring, known as telematics, rewards good driving and would improve safety. In real time, telematics technology would track data such as speed, location and how a vehicle is being driven.
“We have to slow people down,” McKinnor said. “That is the whole purpose for this bill, is driver safety.”
A voter-approved law from 1988, Prop 103, required insurance rates to be based mainly on driving record, miles driven and experience. It made California the only state in the country to prohibit telematics.
McKinnor believes the law is outdated. She argued that her bill would also help good drivers who pay higher rates because of where they live.
“Where I live definitely brings my insurance up,” McKinnor said. “If we both drive the same way, we’ll get charged the same way, instead of by our ZIP code.”
California’s Department of Insurance and consumer groups oppose the bill, citing privacy concerns.
“We can’t look behind the algorithm and see what weight it’s giving to different criteria, which is a big problem,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. “Auto insurance, otherwise, is transparent. This is why the Department of Insurance is opposed, because of the lack of transparency in the algorithm.”
The proposed savings in exchange for good driving might not be guaranteed. Telematics data from the Maryland Insurance Administration showed that 31% of drivers who opted into the program saw a drop in rates, 24% saw an increase and 45% saw no change to their premiums.
“This collects an awful lot of data about people, more than they know, and it’s like having Big Brother in your back seat,” Court said.
McKinnor insisted that drivers will not be forced to enroll in the program.
“It’s still opt-in in the other 49 states,” she said. “We’re not going to make this mandatory. It’ll be a per-volunteer situation.”
McKinnor’s bill passed through the legislature’s insurance committee. It’s expected to be presented to the full Senate in August.
Huntington Beach police are vowing to prevent a potential “takeover” event being promoted across social media that they believe could get out of control.
Police said they became aware of the event from a flyer online advertising an “end of summer beach bash” in the city.
“Dear ‘Beach Bash’ organizers…” police said in an Instagram post Thursday. “Thanks for the flyer. We’ve seen it too.”
They continued, “We have no intention of allowing that to happen here.”
No further details were provided about when the event was planned to take place or the exact location.
Police and the city of Huntington Beach said they’re working to prevent the event following similar events in Southern California that resulted in violence, vandalism and other criminal activity.
One chaotic event that was held in Newport Beach on the Fourth of July ended with more than 400 people being arrested, according to police. Some partygoers were seen fist fighting, while others allegedly vandalized property and local businesses, including a Pavilions grocery store.
Newport Beach police said social media posts drew a large influx of people to Newport Pier in a short amount of time, and the event got out of control.
Huntington Beach PD warned that anyone who organizes, promotes or participates in criminal activity associated with a takeover event may be arrested or prosecuted. Charges may include incitement to riot, vandalism, theft, assault, reckless driving, unlawful assembly, conspiracy or other applicable offenses.
They also warned that juveniles would not be exempt from punishment, and parents or guardians may also be liable for damages caused by their child’s actions.
The HBPD Special Investigations Bureau has already identified individuals believed to be involved in organizing and promoting the event, according to police.
If you have information regarding this event, you are urged to contact Huntington PD’s Special Investigations Bureau at 714-536-5991.
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