Now, they are working alongside each other with local dairy farmers to help reduce exposure to H5N1 between infected cows and people.
Over 650 of the 984 dairies in the state are under quarantine because of a growing bird flu outbreak.
Although the California Department of Public Health says the risk remains low for the general public the virus kills 90% to 100% of infected poultry and about 1% to 2% of cows.
"So, while it does impact dairy herds, and it's definitely devastating to the herd managers compared to how it acts in poultry it's much less severe," says Dr. Annette M. Jones, the state veterinarian and director of the animal health and food safety services with California Department of Food and Agriculture.
In Southern California more dairies have recently tested positive for the bird flu.
The health department and California Department of farm and Agriculture say they have also seen cases in cats.
"LA County has reported two domestic cats who have been confirmed to have consumed raw milk that was infected. We're seeing a lot of neurological diseases and feline species with this particular virus," mentions Dr. Erica Pan, the California State Epidemiologist and Deputy Director for the Center for Infectious Diseases at the California Department of Public Health
Doctors also confirm some wastewater in the state has tested positive for the virus.
"A lot of the pasteurized milk that can be PCR positive, you know, and again, we know pasteurized milk is safe, any virus fragments in there are not infectious, but they can still test positive in the wastewater," explains Dr. Erica Pan.
"So, we think actually a lot of our wastewater detections are from residential or other commercial milk dumping or down in the sinks."
So far, the state has handed out over four million pieces of PPE and says the state of emergency declaration allows them to expand their workforce and better monitor and respond to situations.
"We are really focusing on those who are at highest risk, which is people working with infected animals. Which is why we are focusing as well on education outreach and providing personal protective gear. The only other tip I would remind people to do is avoid touching wild sick animals, or dead animals," says Dr. Pan.
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