Bird Flu To Blame for Egg Shortage, Price Hike; Avian Influenza Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

A lethal bird flu outbreak has killed not only wild and farmed birdlife but also affected ordinary households due to a shortage of eggs and price hikes. Unfortunately, this problem might persist.

Avian Influenza Causes A Drop In Egg Supply and Price Hike

Eggs are very expensive nowadays. According to USDA's weekly Egg Market Overview report on Jan. 13, the average wholesale price of a dozen eggs in the Golden State was over $7 this month. A dozen large eggs currently cost $6.72, twice its price in July, ABC7 reported.

Bill Mattos, the president of the California Poultry Federation, said the producers from North California send their eggs to Northern San Francisco, and some supermarkets refuse to sell eggs for the price they need to. Some don't even want to offer eggs in supermarkets because they don't want to shock the consumer with the price hike.

Nate Rose, the spokesperson for California Grocers Association, acknowledged that the price of eggs has skyrocketed, and the stores are trying to mitigate the impact on consumers, with some taking a loss on eggs. The price hike is too high, and eggs remain in the top three items on people's grocery lists.

Mattos said the egg supply was affected by the COVID-19 crisis, so transporting eggs has been high. Also, bird flu is another factor. Last summer, the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) in the Midwest, and there already lost 70 million layered chickens and turkeys.

Another issue making the eggs pricey is the time it takes for the layered chicken to grow and produce eggs again.

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Bird Flu Hits Farmed Birds Producing Eggs

Avian influenza, or bird flu, has hit farmed birds. Although there is no threat of extinction, a global death toll of over 140 million has been reported, making it a cause for concern, The Guardian reported.

Aside from the loss of life, farmers have suffered from loss of income, and consumers face price hikes for eggs, a staple food once an affordable source of protein.

Ian Brown, chair of the joint World Organisation for Animal Health and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN's Scientific Network on Animal Influenza, said they do surveillance and culling to stamp out infection in Europe. They depopulate and disinfect the farm and put measures to limit the risk of spreading the bird flu virus from the farm.

He added that farms could also implement biosecurity measures like good hygiene practices to prevent the virus from entering the form, France24 reported.

However, he also acknowledged that even with good hygiene, sometimes the virus can still find its way. H5N1 is present in wild birds; one infected animal can easily fly between multiple farms to spread the infection.

In the UK, bird flu doesn't normally affect barn owls and kestrels. However, recently they have been infected.

Claire Smith, policy officer for UK bird protection charity the RSPB, said they have a theory that the big poultry operations have rodents, who don't die of bird flu but carry the virus on their fur and spread them to owls and kestrels when the latter catch them.

Bird Flu Has Become a 'Year-Round' Disease

There are no signs that the global bird flu infection is slowing down. There is also little hope of respite at the end of the traditional winter flue.

In 2022, the bird flu virus managed to sustain until summer. Brown says it's the first time it has become a year-round disease.

Bird flu has also been detected for the first time in Latin America, with outbreaks in Columbia, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, and Ecuador. Wild birds in Galapagos are also at risk.