Some Americans may be facing a serious threat to their Thanksgiving family breakfast as grocery stores are reportedly facing nationwide egg shortages due to the bird flu.
Although egg supply appears to be stable in most parts of the country, some places are facing a dairy crisis. According to NBC NewsIn parts of Denver, Miami and New York, the shortages were caused by rising egg prices, rationing and empty shelves. Gizmodo.
However, according to experts, the single biggest reason behind the shortage is bird flu.
“Bird flu is the biggest factor affecting egg prices right now,” said agricultural economist Brent Nelson. NBC News. “Just in the last few months, we’ve seen nearly 10 million birds infected with the virus alone. And as we move forward and the migration continues, we’ll always be watching to see what happens with avian influenza. is
The highly pathogenic avian influenza A strain of H5N1 has become increasingly prevalent in wild birds and domestic poultry in the United States since 2022.
H5N1 outbreaks of bird flu in poultry have been reported in 48 states during that time.
Additionally, as recently as this year, H5N1 has begun to spread widely among dairy cattle.
Although the virus is not easily spreading between people (for now, at least), human cases of H5N1 have also been linked to these animal outbreaks.
According to the American Egg Board, the overall egg supply in the country is fine, however, these outbreaks have had a real impact.
Additionally, a USDA report this July revealed that total egg production in the country was down 2.6 percent from last year, with bird flu as a major factor.