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 person in Louisiana became the first to be diagnosed with a severe case of the bird flu after possibly being exposed to sick and dead birds on their property, the Centers for Disease Control said on Wednesday.

The United States has confirmed its first known severe human infection of H5N1 bird flu, in a person in Louisiana believed to have contracted the virus through contact with sick or dead birds in a backyard flock.