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Bird flu sending egg prices soaring

Inflation Consumer Goods
Posted at 12:29 PM, Apr 08, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-08 13:29:19-04

If you're heading to the grocery store, you might see that the price of eggs is rising.

That's because of the H5N1 avian influenza A, which has now been detected in 24 states, from Maine to Wyoming, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspective Service.

According to USDA, the average weekly price for eggs is now 44% more than it was at this same time last year.

According to the Associated Press, Iowa has been hit the hardest, with about 13 million chickens and turkeys killed.

The virus was first detected in February 2022 in poultry, including both commercial and backyard flocks, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The AP reported that the virus had killed more than 24 million poultry, with some farms killing more than 5 million chickens at a single site.

This marks the largest outbreak since 2015 when farmers killed more than 50 million birds.

The CDC says the risk to the general public from the outbreak is low, and no human illnesses have been identified in the U.S.