SACRAMENTO, California — The bird flu outbreak that has been ripping through California farms since August is starting to abate, state health and agriculture officials said Wednesday, heralding “good news” in a health crisis that has sent egg prices soaring nationwide.
“Thankfully, we do see here in California the flu outbreak is slowing down,” said Dr. Erica Pan, the director of the California Department of Public Health, during a committee hearing at the state Senate.
There have been no new cases in humans since January, Pan said. And state veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones said the state’s almost 1,000 dairy herds of cows are getting sick at a slower pace. The virus has started to decline in poultry as well, with dozens of flocks coming off quarantine and being approved to restock their birds.
“The good news is we are lifting quarantines now faster than we’re placing them,” Jones said. “There were times in December where I wanted to break down in tears, because every night we got 30 new cases.”
