New data published from the Consumer Price Index shows that egg prices have soared 60% in 2022.
While inflation and price-gouging could play a factor in high egg prices, the avian flu epidemic is the heart of the problem.
The U.S. is currently facing the deadliest avian flu outbreak in its history with nearly 58 million birds having been infected, according to the USDA.
The avian flu, much like the human influenza virus, mutates readily causing some strains to be more deadly than others. This is a year with a highly virulent strain circulating among birds, unlike less harmful strains in the past.
This is not the first time the U.S. has seen a highly pathogenic strain of avian flu. In 2015, more than 50 million chickens and turkeys were infected, causing economic losses of $3.3 billion, according to the USDA.
Ray Chandler, an ecology and bird conservation researcher at Georgia Southern University, notes that reducing an avian flu outbreak among domestic birds, such as chickens, is much more challenging compared to wild bird populations.
"Similar to how the human flu spreads more readily during the winter because we are cooped up indoors," Chandler explains, "avian flu spreads readily among domestic birds because they are housed together in dense groups."
Wild bird populations naturally decrease the spread of the virus amongst themselves when they migrate to remote areas and spread-out during the breeding season. Domestic birds, however, require human intervention to contain the spread. One form of human intervention requires the euthanization of entire hen houses that have been exposed to the virus.
Chicken farms also use extensive preventative measures to remain sterile. These measures require all trucks entering or leaving a farm to undergo a disinfection process and any person on the farm must wear a sterile suit and boots.
Brad Sutton, the operations manager at Highridge Poultry, says that transmission prevention measure taken during an outbreak are not only tedious, but can end up being very costly.
"Buying the disinfectant to spray the trucks can be a costly expense that a lot of people don't consider," said Sutton, "but it's better safe than sorry."
While poultry businesses seem to take the biggest hit from avian flu outbreaks, small businesses such as bakeries or restaurants can also take a costly blow.
Jordan Gunter, the general manager of Sugar Magnolia Bistro in Statesboro, has not ran into any problems acquiring enough eggs for his day to day operations. However, Gunter says the higher egg prices have not been ideal.
While it is hard to predict when egg prices will go back down, experts encourage consumers to remain hopeful.