California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency to boost the state’s response to the avian flu, which has infected more than 600 dairy herds and 34 people in the state amid a national outbreak that began in the spring.

The proclamation gives state and local agencies additional flexibility on staffing, contracting and other rules to support the H5N1 response, according to a statement from the governor’s office.

The move comes the same day federal health officials confirmed the nation’s first severe case of avian flu in a person — a patient in Louisiana who is hospitalized in critical condition with respiratory symptoms. The person, who is over 65 and has underlying medical conditions, is believed to have contracted the virus from infected or dead birds in a backyard flock.

Until the Louisiana patient, all known cases of avian flu in humans had been mild and mostly among dairy and poultry workers. One Bay Area child in Alameda County was infected from a source other than animal exposure and has recovered.

In total, the virus has been found in cattle in 16 states. Human cases have been found in a subset of those states, and most have been concentrated in Colorado, Washington and California.