California announces temporary ban on poultry and cattle exhibits

California's state veterinarian in a January 7 statement announced a ban on all poultry and cattle exhibitions until further notice as part of the state's efforts to curb the spread of H5N1 avian flu to people and to uninfected animals.

The virus has become widespread in dairy cows, as well as in commercial and backyard poultry, and Governor Gavin Newsome on December 18 declared a state of emergency to free up more resources to battle the virus.

Annette Jones, DVM, state veterinarian, said, "We will continue to assess the threat over the next few months and rescind this ban if the situation changes."

More detections in poultry and cattle, more wild-bird warnings

In other developments, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed 4 more H5N1 detections in dairy cattle, 3 in California and apparently 1 in Michigan that the state first announced in October 2024. The new confirmations push the national total to 923 and California's total to 706.

APHIS also confirmed one more H5N1 outbreak in poultry, which involves a layer farm in Ohio's Darke County that has 245,300 birds.