Mon Jan 27 18:00:00 UTC 2025: ## Egg Prices Soar as Avian Flu Devastates US Poultry Industry
**Ozark, MO** – Avian influenza is causing a nationwide egg shortage and sending prices skyrocketing, leaving consumers facing empty shelves and significantly higher costs for this staple food. Reports from across the country describe grocery stores with nearly depleted egg supplies, prompting frustration among shoppers.
The H5N1 bird flu, which first impacted the US in 2022, has intensified recently. Over 30 million chickens, approximately 10% of the nation’s egg-laying flock, have been culled in the last three months alone to control the disease’s spread. This significant loss has created a substantial gap in egg production, impacting retailers disproportionately.
Karyn Rispoli, egg managing editor at Expana, a price tracking firm, calls this the worst wave of the avian flu outbreak in three years. She notes that it will likely take months for the egg-laying chicken population to recover to its pre-outbreak level of approximately 318 million.
While inflation has contributed to volatile egg prices, the bird flu is the primary driver of the current crisis, leaving consumers to brace for continued shortages and high prices in the coming months.
First Piper 