The price of wholesale eggs have skyrocketed across the United States amid the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu.
Wholesale prices for large eggs hit $5.57 per dozen in the Midwest in December, which was up 150% from a year ago, according to commodity data firm Expana. Prices were even higher in California, reaching a record high of $8.85 per dozen.
Karyn Rispoli, Expana’s managing editor for eggs, told Axios that Jan. 2 marked “three straight weeks of record-breaking daily price increases.”
“The primary driver behind these historic prices is the ongoing spread of avian influenza, which has claimed over 20 million layers during the fourth quarter, a time that also coincides with the year’s highest demand period,” Rispoli added.
The bird flu outbreak, which began in January 2022, has affected nearly 129 million chickens, turkeys and other birds, including wild, commercial and backyard flocks in all 50 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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As infected egg-laying hens die from the virus, production has slowed and caused a shortage of eggs nationwide, as well as price increases.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the agency has been funding research for vaccines that could protect poultry and cows from the bird flu. However, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said that there would be long-term challenges.
“Widespread vaccination of commercial poultry is not possible in the short term,” Vilsack wrote in a March 2024 letter to members of Congress, Reuters reported.
Although the World Health Organization does not currently list the bird flu outbreak as a global health emergency, the virus has led to a number of recalls in the U.S. after it was detected in retail samples of dairy milk. No egg recalls have been reported.
Dr. Joseph Khabbaza, who works in Critical Care and Pulmonology at the Cleveland Clinic, previously told PEOPLE that “pasteurized milk is going to be safe, and also cooked eggs. In general, we should be cooking our eggs and not eating raw eggs. But as long as these are pasteurized dairy products and cooked foods, it really would eliminate any kind of risk to us.”
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