What to know about Newsom’s state of emergency over bird flu

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your Thursday.

State of emergency declared in California while CDC confirms severe case of bird flu in Louisiana

California’s response to rising cases of bird flu among dairy herds kicked into high gear Wednesday as Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency.

“This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak,” Newsom wrote in a statement.

The order came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the nation’s first human case of severe illness in a patient in Louisiana.

The development “is concerning to public health officials because of its severity,” Times reporter Susanne Rust wrote Wednesday. “Federal officials would not provide details about the patient’s symptoms, deferring all inquiries to Louisiana’s Department of Public Health.”

Susanne’s calls and emails to that agency have gone unanswered as of Wednesday evening.

What does the order mean?

The declaration is designed “to further enhance the state’s preparedness and accelerate the ongoing cross-agency response efforts,” Newsom’s office said in a statement Wednesday.

It includes more flexible staffing rules, suspending work hour limitations for many positions and streamlining the typical contractor procedures. Newsom’s proclamation also directs state residents “to obey the direction of emergency officials with regard to this emergency in order to protect their safety.”

“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,” Newsom said. “While the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of this virus.”

How serious is bird flu right now?

Of the 61 national human cases recorded to date by the CDC, 34 infections happened in California. Although there are no confirmed person-to-person infections so far, Susanne recently reported on research that indicates the strain currently affecting dairy cows is one mutation away from becoming easily transmitted between humans.

Writing in The Times’ Opinion section this week, Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at UC San Francisco, said the virus has mostly been kept at bay — but that could change.

“Finding a single mutation in a lab that can facilitate more human infections does not guarantee that this threat will play out in the real world,” Chin-Hong added. “But the more transmissions that occur, as is happening now among poultry and dairy cows in the U.S., the higher the likelihood that some of these mutations will appear by chance and take off.”

Those currently most at risk are dairy and poultry workers. Those are huge industries in California; milk and dairy products are the state’s top agricultural commodity, and the poultry market ranked 13th in national sales, according to 2022 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Of the 865 confirmed cattle herd infections nationwide, 649 are in California, according to USDA data — roughly 75%. Infections are being reported in the Central Valley and Southern California.

All but one case in California was an infected dairy worker. But the CDC also noted that “hunters and people who have backyard or hobbyist flocks” are at higher risk.

Just like with COVID-19, there are different strains of H5N1. The version circulating in wild birds has been labeled D1.1. The strain circulating in dairy cows is known as B3.13.

Testing samples from cattle herds and poultry farms is key to identifying and reducing the spread of the virus.

But as my colleague Suhauna Hussain reported earlier this month, the state’s first line of defense against rising bird flu cases is stretched thin.

Current and former employees at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory told her the UC Davis facility is understaffed, leading to long hours and burnout that fueled mistakes.

What can we do to protect ourselves?

The CDC characterizes the current public health risk as low, but does note some protective actions for people to be aware of, including:

• Do not consume raw milk or products made with it
• Avoid contact with wild birds in general, and especially birds that appear ill or have died, including domestic birds
• Avoid unprotected physical contact or close exposure with cattle that may be infected with the virus

The CDC notes that the federal government is developing vaccines against bird flu “in case they are needed.”

Susanne has been covering the rise of bird flu in California. You can read more of her reporting here:

Today’s top stories

The EPA approved California’s ban on new gasoline-powered cars by 2035

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week signed off on two major California clean air rules designed to reduce pollution from cars and trucks.
• Authorizing the rules ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s arrival to the White House makes it more difficult for the incoming Trump administration and other opponents to attack them, experts say.

A California man linked to the Madison school shooter may have plotted his own attack

• A Southern California man who was in contact with the Madison, Wis., school shooter allegedly was plotting to attack a government building, according to records and media reports.
• Authorities say 15-year-old Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow shot and killed a teacher and a teenage student and injured six others at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin on Monday, before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Here’s what we know about the Fed’s plans for more interest rate cuts and the fight against inflation

• The Federal Reserve made another cut in interest rates, but dialed back expectations for lowering rates in the near future.
• Plans for more rate cuts in 2025 have become muddied as progress on curbing inflation has stalled and uncertainties abound about what effect the incoming Trump administration will have on the economy.
• The Fed’s recent rate cuts could help households that are stretched financially, but they haven’t done a whole lot for potential homebuyers and sellers.

A new mausoleum is a high-rise for the dead in Los Angeles

• A 100-foot-tall, five-story mausoleum has risen on the west edge of Hollywood Forever Cemetery, designed as an alternative for a city moving away from ground burials.
• “We’re not going to build more cemeteries in L.A., so we need to come up with creative ways to increase burial space,” said Yogu Kanthiah, Hollywood Forever’s co-owner and chief financial officer.

What else is going on

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This morning’s must read

Women’s prisons are rife with trauma. Can California set a new course at Chowchilla? Efforts to reform life inside the walls of the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla are making headway. But most female prisoners have experienced levels of trauma that make it hard to build trust.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

Going out

Staying in

A question for you: What is your favorite holiday movie?

Brian Niemiec writes: “My favorite holiday movie is Joe Dante’s ‘Gremlins.’ I worked in a toy store in the ‘80s during the Cabbage Patch doll craze. Dante’s ‘Gremlins’ captured the chaos and cruel, black humor of the holiday season.”

And Bill Barnes writes: “I have to say my new favorite Christmas movie is ‘Single All the Way.’ It’s the story of a young, gay man who returns home with his best friend pretending to be his boyfriend, so he won’t have to endure the pity and sorrow of his family who’s concerned with him being single. It’s a story about the real gifts at the holiday time.”

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might be included in the newsletter this week.

And finally … from our archives

James Cameron’s “Titanic” hit movie theaters in the U.S. on Dec. 19, 1997. In a review headlined “‘Titanic’ Sinks Again (Spectacularly),” then-film critic Kenneth Turan wrote the box office hit “almost makes you weep in frustration.”

“Not because of the excessive budget, not even because it recalls the unnecessary loss of life in the real 1912 catastrophe, which saw more than 1,500 of the 2,200-plus passengers dying when an iceberg sliced the ship open like a can opener. What really brings on the tears is Cameron’s insistence that writing this kind of movie is within his abilities. Not only isn’t it, it isn’t even close.”

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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