The substantial increase in egg prices at the grocery store has brought Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) to the attention of the general consumer. The last two weeks, I have had an increase in calls and personal visits from community members that are looking for information about bird flu. Although I have covered the topic a couple of times, I think it is appropriate to provide an update on where we stand today, and what the future may hold. As a reminder, Avian Influenza is in the same virus family as the seasonal flu that we experience. Poultry has proven to be very sensitive to the virus, which will result in high levels of bird mortality. Influenza in general, and avian influenza specifically, can infect other species. Although, it may not impact their health with the same severity.
Avian Influenza infections have been occurring in commercial poultry flocks for almost two decades. Historically, it was a seasonal concern that coincided with wild bird migration. There would be a peak of diagnosed illness in spring, and those numbers would reduce until the fall/winter migration that would start another round. The most recent outbreak, that began back in 2022, hasn’t taken much of a pause.
In the past month USDA reported 151 infected commercial, backyard flocks
Cases may decline from an individual state, only to appear somewhere else in the country. Over the last 30 days, the USDA has reported 151 infected commercial and backyard flocks with appropriately 23.33 million birds affected (USDA APHIS). Ohio is the current hotbed of infection with 51 confirmed flocks, accounting for 8.9 million birds, many of which have been commercial egg laying facilities. All of these cases are in western Ohio.
The United States Department of Agriculture dictates policy on how animal disease outbreaks are to be managed. In poultry, the policy has been that if the virus is detected in a flock, the entire flock is destroyed. While this is an economic hardship for those producers raising meat birds, it is more so for those that have layer flocks. The flock owner will be assisted to euthanize the flock and to properly dispose of the birds. Their facility must then be sanitized and inspected before new birds can be introduced to the house. It only takes about 30 days for a baby chicken to be raised to a size where it is harvested for the retail market. Layers on the other hand take about 22 weeks to begin laying eggs. So it takes much longer for commercial egg producers to return to normal production than it does those raising broilers.
Egg industry saw a 3.7% reduction in number of birds in January
In the last four months, over 20 million layers have been culled. The US commercial egg industry saw a 3.7 percent reduction in the number of birds in January of 2025 alone, and over the last three years the national flock has been reduced by 8 percent. This has resulted in a decline of total production from 9.4 billion eggs to 9.1 billion. The reduction in availability has driven the 15 percent average increase in egg price that consumers see in the grocery store. So, due to the time required to bring new birds into production, it is not an issue that can be solved overnight.
The new administration is proposing changes in policy that would no longer require infected flocks, that do not show clinical signs of illness, to be euthanized. They are also pushing for the development of a vaccine to help combat the virus. There has been a vaccine available since 2021, but it wasn’t developed in a form that was feasible for the treatment of large numbers of birds. I imagine you can understand the effort that would be needed to inject a vaccine into 100,000 birds in a single poultry building. There is current work to design a form that could be administered topically or via drink water for these poultry establishments.
I hope that this overview is helpful for you to understand why you are seeing the current prices for eggs in the grocery store. I would like to reinforce that our food system is still safe. The virus is destroyed by continuing to obey basic food preparation principles. Pasteurization of milk destroys the virus in dairy cattle that may have been infected. Cooking meat and eggs to a minimum of 160 degrees also inactivates the virus. Regardless of the presence of the virus, or its absence, extreme caution should always be used when consuming raw milk, meat, and egg products. There are still significant human health concerns with our historic pathogens such as E.coli, Salmonella, and Listeria. Those that raise poultry on a commercial level are encouraged to implement advanced biosecurity practices to reduce the risk of introducing the virus to their flock. Backyard bird owners should also take steps to improve their farm sanitation and limit contact between their birds and wild birds that may be present.
Farm program rundown for February, March
There is still a variety of program opportunities, by OSU Extension and other organizations, through the end of March. Our last Wayne County private pesticide applicator’s recertification will be held on March 4th at the Secrest Arboretum Welcome and Education Center. February 28th is the NE Ohio Dairy Conference at Fisher Auditorium. This marks the 25th year of this conference, which is coordinated by the Killbuck Valley Veterinary Medical Association. The program topics this year are on reproduction and dairy-beef. The OSU Small Farm Conference will be held at Fisher Auditorium on March 8th. Finally, a farm transition workshop will be held on March 11th and 13th at the Shisler Conference center. If you would like more information on any of these programs you can view them on the OSU Extension – Wayne County events calendar at wayne.osu.edu. As always, I hope that you have a safe and prosperous week. If you have any questions or would like to register for one of our programs, please contact me at 330-264-8722 or yost.77@osu.edu
John Yost is an extension educator IV, Agriculture and Natural Resources, at OSU Extension-Wayne County.
This article was previsouly published in The Daily Record.