The ongoing bird flu outbreak is causing significant disruptions, particularly for egg prices, poultry farms and dairy production. While humans have experienced mild symptoms from the virus, the economic toll on farmers and the food industry is substantial.
Egg prices have risen roughly 44% in the U.S., according to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).
Bird flu, described by California Department of Public Health (CDPH), also known as avian influenza A, is “caused by a virus that can cause serious illness and death in birds and mammals.”
The impact in Homewood and Flossmoor areas are also very noticeable.
The Voyager sent out their members to observe the decrease in egg production and increase in demand. One member who traveled to Jewel-Osco noted that the lack of cartons on the shelves was extremely alarming.
One member who traveled to Walt’s and came across a sign; “Items in our egg section have limited availability, due to supply chain issues,” it said.
“We are working diligently to bring these products to our store as often as we can, check back regularly, our stores receive deliveries many times a week.”
“The number one thing we sell is eggs. So we take a big effect on it,” he said.
Restaurants have also implemented surcharges on eggs, as Waffle House added a 50 cent increase for eggs or items that include eggs off of the menu, per CBS News.
As for humans, the effect of bird flu has been fairly mild.
“The bird flu, like all influenza, is an RNA virus, which means it has a high mutation rate,” H-F microbiology teacher Kimberly Smith said.
Human symptoms include eye redness, coughing, sore throat, runny nose, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle aching and headaches.
68 people in the U.S. have tested positive, but only one casualty has been reported. In January, the first U.S. human casualty from this current outbreak was reported from the bird flu.
On January 6th, 2025, the state of Louisiana reported that a person previously hospitalized with severe avian influenza passed away.
The patient, a 65-year-old man, was reported to have alarming medical conditions and was highly exposed to wild birds and a poultry flock that harbored the virus.
Consider the 954 confirmed cases reported to the WHO since 2003, while the fatality rate only stands at 52%, according to the CDC. From January 1, 2003 to December 12, 2024, only 464 out of the 954 cases of avian influenza were fatal.
Furthermore, milk production has reduced, as the U.S Department of Agriculture announced that avian influenza had been found in dairy cattle for the first time. While pasteurization is a valuable solution to preventing it from entering milk, bird flu has been extremely present in cross-species transmission.
According to Nature Portfolio, over 900 dairy herds in 16 U.S. states and poultry in 50 states have been contaminated by bird flu. From a report on February 21st, 2025, over 162,000,000 poultry have been affected by it.
As of Feb. 24, 2025, bird flu has been detected in rats. The bird flu so far has been mild with only six human cases as of this year being detected through national flu surveillance, according to the CDC, but for eggs and dairy, including poultry and grocery stores, it holds a major threat.
“At this point, the bird flu does not seem to easily pass to mammals, but it does happen, especially if animals or people around birds that carry it.
The concern is that since people or mammals have not had a lot of previous exposure to Avian flu, there is no ancestral memory or immunity to it and it has the potential to do a lot of damage because of this,” Smith continued.
Bird flu is not affecting humans in such a drastic way because its human-to-human transmission capacity is limited. This virus is specifically spread through harmful environments or direct contact with animals, instead of human to human.
Human vaccination has been encouraged to reduce strain on healthcare systems. Major emphasis has been put upon not touching sick or dead birds, or even wearing protective gear when handling them.
The current state of the bird flu has been for eggs, very impactful in terms of price and availability, as well as milk and dairy products. At HF, culinary teacher Khayla Kelley spoke about the prevalent effects of bird flu within her classroom. “As consumers, we have experienced difficulties in purchasing eggs from local stores.
However, we are fortunate enough to have contracts and connections with different stores to be able to purchase eggs at bulk!” Kelley then spoke about the budgeting increase within the classroom. “We have had to change or update recipes in order to be able to get the maximum amount of egg usage without having to purchase so many!
For humans and especially farmers, it presents a financial issue with the fact of decreased activity from multiple flocks and a decrease in their income. To live with the pressuring anticipation of your farm being infected or even your livestock and your environment being threatened.
This can be presumed on a global scale for all farmers ranging from America, Europe, etc. Over 134 commercial and backyard flocks in the US have been affected by bird flu in the past 30 days, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
