Health officials in the most populous state in the country have seen where the bird flu story appears to be heading, and they’re determined to stay ahead of it. Whether the rest of the nation is willing to follow suit remains to be seen.
On the same day that the first severe case of the avian virus in the U.S. was disclosed in Louisiana, halfway across the country, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency designed to expedite the state’s response to further outbreaks of H5N1, commonly known as bird flu.
