The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a patient has been hospitalized with a severe case of H5N1 infection in Louisiana, making it the first instance of a severe illness linked to the virus in the United States.

California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu, which is tearing through dairy cows in that state and causing sporadic illnesses in people in the U.S.

As the CDC confirmed a severe case in Louisiana of a patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in California related to the virus.

A Louisiana patient is critically ill with severe respiratory symptoms from H5N1 bird flu, marking the 61st U.S. human case this year. California has declared a state of emergency. CBS News medical contributor Dr.

California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu, which is tearing through dairy cows in that state and causing sporadic illnesses in people in the U.S. That raises new questions about the outbreak of the virus,

Officials have discovered the virus in 645 dairy herds, more than in any other state so far. In a stark acknowledgment of the increasing seriousness of bird flu’s spread, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California declared on Wednesday that the outbreak of infections among the state’s dairy cattle constituted an emergency.

Los Angeles County health officials reported the first human case of bird flu in the area less than a week after a statewide emergency declaration was announced.

A human case of the bird flu has been confirmed in Stanislaus County, according to health officials. Stanislaus County Public Health, California Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the bird flu (H5N1 avian influenza) in a county resident who had contact with infected dairy cattle.