There’s No Eggs!

You run to the grocery store, and it has no eggs. You desperately scramble to other supermarkets or delis like Costco, Aldi, or Lidl, and they have no eggs. Every store that does have eggs has signs on the refrigerators that say you can only get two cartons or less. The thought is daunting, and you come to the realization—it’s an EGG-pocalypse. Across poultry farms in the United States, bird flu has decimated chickens on an unprecedented scale. Eggs have more than doubled in price from 2023 to 2024 due to the shortage. From 2022 to the present day, egg prices have fluctuated, rising from $2.17 a dozen to $5.10 a dozen the next year, then falling back to $3.00 during 2023 and 2024 before spiking again to $4.15 at the end of last year. In 2024, America lost 40 million egg-laying hens to bird flu. Since this new epidemic is moving across the country, egg-shoppers are bracing for impact as people fight to get the last carton while farmers are trying to salvage their coops. 

The bird flu, also known as avian flu, is an umbrella term for the various strains of the disease carried by over 100 species of wild birds worldwide. In 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that avian flu rapidly broke out in dairy cattle across the country, eventually spreading to birds. Although various states such as Idaho, Michigan, and Texas report 20 or 30 infected herds, California has reported a staggering 720 herds. Today, the virus is no longer concentrated in the west and has made its way across the country. 

The birds responsible for this crisis were driven north by climate change’s temperature shifts; they came in close contact with agricultural establishments and spread diseases to local farm animals. The wild birds that carry avian flu are usually aquatic birds like waterfowl— such as ducks and geese or shorebirds such as storks and sandpipers. They are considered “reservoirs” or “hosts” because they are usually unaffected by the contagious viruses they carry. 

The virus currently breaking out in America is the H5N1 bird flu, a strain within the larger category of avian influenza A. Strains fall under two types of influenza A: Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Both of these are devastating to farmers despite their differences. In the case of an LPAI outbreak, infected birds experience mild respiratory symptoms similar to those of influenza in humans. However, LPAI can mutate into a more pathogenic, dangerous strain of bird flu if spread quickly across chickens that live in cramped arrangements. 

Mutated LPAI is similar to HPAI, which exhibits the characteristics of more dangerous and fatal bird flu. HPAI causes sudden death and more widespread loss in chickens—populations that contract HPAI are decimated within days due to a swift decline in poultry health from severe inflammation. H5N1 falls under the HPAI category, which is the main reason for the egg shortage’s rapid development. 

At the start of the infection chain reaction, bird flu presents as dormant in reservoirs. The virus infects the reservoir’s intestines and respiratory tract, lingering mildly or leaving the host wholly unaffected. As other birds come into contact with infected saliva, nasal secretions, and feces, bird flu spreads quickly to different populations. The disease can also spread through contaminated surfaces that interact with similar bird fluids and organic substances. 

However, in some cases, an intermediate host such as a pig can get infected. In this situation, viral reassortment occurs, and a new influenza A virus is created from two different species that infect one host at the same time; genetic data from the two species of virus is spliced into a new mutation. An antigenic shift occurs, meaning that the new influenza A virus is a subtype against which humans have little immune protection due to the pathogen’s foreign proteins. The influenza virus then shifts from being a rare presence among humans to being pathogenic. As the virus spreads, it may also mutate and become more dangerous to humans. However, very few human infections have been reported from poultry and dairy farms, and people who have bird flu generally present with no or mild symptoms. Although bird flu can spread to humans in this way, the larger risk is poultry and the poultry-relevant economy. 

Once infected by the bird flu, a bird at risk will present with fatigue, purple discoloration, respiratory and nasal issues, and reduced egg production. These symptoms can escalate to sudden death. In order to prevent further infection, farmers have to cull all the chickens in their infected flocks, since poultry rarely recover from HPAI and will be at risk if infected by LPAI. Vaccination is not available for humans but it is for poultry, although its use is controversial. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that although vaccination can build immunity for poultry, the risk of spreading HPAI during the vaccination process is too risky. Bird flu is so fatal in birds due to severe inflammation, which leads to multi-organ failure. 

This deadly pathogen has also spread to other wild and domestic animals such as cats, cows, seals, and foxes. Other animals have become severely ill after eating infected hosts, drinking infected milk, and living in the same area as infected animals—bird or not. In most cases, bird flu is widespread among domesticated animal populations with a high population density as opposed to wild animal populations. 

People can contract avian flu in the same ways that animals can. Those who don’t work with birds and farm animals generally do not have to worry about infection. However, it is important to handle eggs with the right heat when cooking, and farmers should wear gloves and masks while working with birds to avoid disease. The CDC is actively monitoring all reports of bird flu from health centers and hospitals in case of a human outbreak. In order to prevent further propagation of avian flu in pets, the CDC also recommends to sanitize and keep pets away from wild animals. 

Since the U.S. has left the WHO, Trump has paused communication between various public health agencies. This pause has restricted health updates from the CDC and FDA, leaving research officials and the public stunned regarding how to react to a possible human outbreak. The Trump administration has also restricted reports on bird flu, halting the CDC’s weekly reports on outbreaks. Hopefully, as the bird flu spreads, it will mutate to become less pathogenic; farmers can recover from economic losses, and the CDC will be able to release more information.