If you have tried to bake a cake recently, you might have had a hard time finding eggs. The empty shelves are a sign of the devastating impact of avian influenza, H5N1 or HPAI, on commercial poultry flocks in California. The virus commonly known as bird flu can cause serious illness and death in birds and mammals. Human infections with bird flu viruses are rare, but they can happen when the virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose, mouth or when inhaled, according to the California Department of Public Health. As of Dec. 23, the department reported 37 confirmed human cases of bird flu in the state, 36 of which occurred due to exposure to infected cattle. No person-to-person bird flu has been detected in California. Pasteurized milk and dairy products are safe to consume because pasteurization inactivates the bird flu virus. In November, a raw milk company based out of Fresno had to recall its products due to the presence of the bird flu virus. Officials in San Francisco also suspect the virus made a child there ill this month, but the child recovered. Since the first outbreaks in 2022, most cases appeared to be happening in the Central Valley. In November, bird flu was detected in a commercial duck flock in Marin County, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, or CDFA. At the end of December, the USDA reported the virus detected in 627,800 commercial egg-laying hens in San Joaquin County. CDFA spokesperson Steve Lyle said the egg shortages are related to bird flu, but also a seasonal increase in demand. “Over the holidays, demand went up at grocery stores as more home meals were cooked, at a time of year when production is flat or even low,” he said. Money Jan 14 Why eggs are selling for over $9 a dozen in some places — and when prices are expected to drop Recalls Dec 24, 2024 FDA raises recall alert to highest level on Costco eggs over risk of severe illness or death due to salmonella During the shorter winter days, hens will produce fewer eggs. Production is activated by the chicken’s pituitary gland, which is affected by the amount of light the chicken experiences, according to information posted by Colorado State University’s extension service. Lyle said most eggs consumed in California are imported from other states, but about 40 percent are produced here. “Two-thirds of egg-laying hens in California have been lost in the recent outbreak,” he said. That means about 10 million out of 14 million hens have been lost since August. Lyle anticipates supplies will remain tight for at least the next several weeks. “At this time, we have no estimation as to when we might see an improvement in supply,” said Jennifer Shelton, spokesperson for the Save Mart Companies, which own Lucky and Food Maxx groceries. She said the stores will continue to ask customers to limit the number of eggs to two cartons per purchase. Maurice Pitesky with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine said this outbreak of bird flu is unprecedented. “It’s the worst one in California, in the country, in the world and in history,” he said. “You look at the last 7,000 or 10,000 years of human history, since the beginning of the agricultural revolution, I can’t think of any way you can measure it where this would not be number one. Geographically, it’s hit six or seven continents.” The virus has been seen in both wild and domestic birds, as well as domestic mammals, he said. It is an RNA virus, which he says can transform. “It’s segmented. It’s got this amazing capacity to mutate and shift and reabsorb.” “We’re finding it in the environment, in human wastewater, dairy lagoons, etc.,” he continued. “It’s in dairy, it’s in poultry. It’s shown the ability to infect pigs. The significance of that from a food security perspective — three of the main animal proteins that humans consume on the planet — is pretty significant. There have been some people that have been sickened that we can’t find a connection to poultry or dairy, so that’s concerning.” Pitesky confirmed that most people infected are working with dairy or poultry in farming occupations. But the virus is migrating with wild birds. “There’s different types of it floating around and some of those can eventually become either more infectious or more virulent, potentially,” he said. The Pacific Flyway is in the Central Valley of California, where there are close to a thousand dairies and 600 commercial poultry facilities, said Pitesky. That happens to also be the wintering stopover for about 3 million waterfowl, ducks and geese. When those birds migrate back to the Arctic every year, they can interface with waterfowl from other flyways, and that’s how this virus can move literally around the world. So far, the waterfowl don’t seem to be highly affected, although there have been devastating outbreaks for snow geese and albatross, he said. For those thinking of avoiding the grocery store and raising hens in their backyards, Pitesky advises creating physical barriers to protect their birds. People should do the best they can to use fencing to physically separate their domestic chickens from any wild animals, from the sides and from above. Don’t leave poultry feed out, which attracts wild animals. Nate Rose, spokesperson for the California Grocers Association, said their large and small member stores are all experiencing shortages. He attributes them partly to the state’s high standards. He referenced Proposition 12, the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative, which went into effect in 2022. The law requires all poultry to have free movement in a cage-free design. This year, Utah and Colorado added similar laws, bringing the total to ten states. “So that’s increased demand for eggs that meet the welfare standards of cage free and so there’s more grocers looking to buy those eggs when supply is down because of avian flu,” said Rose. “When we create a smaller pool of goods to buy from, it is more fragile to these kinds of black swan events,” he said. “Cost is up around 30% and that’s how Californians have voted. That’s what consumers have said they want. Our view in the grocery industry is to satisfy the customer.”