4 ms·

Why does this mostly affect the US? I've been abroad most of the year and eggs don't seem overly expensive.

toomuchtodo 2y ago
The below links are not all inclusive, but each touch on your inquiry in various capacities (as the problem is complex and multifaceted). Georgia halted all poultry sales due to infection detections, for example. https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/h5n1-much-more-than-you-wanted-to https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/h5n1-much-more-than-you-wan... https://agr.georgia.gov/pr/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-confirmed-2nd-commercial-poultry-flock-georgia https://agr.georgia.gov/pr/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza... https://www.wusf.org/health-news-florida/2025-02-02/deadly-h5n1-bird-flu-becomes-existential-threat-biodiversity-worldwide https://www.wusf.org/health-news-florida/2025-02-02/deadly-h... https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/01/21/134m-poultry-and-counting-interactive-charts-show-hardest-hit-counties-in-bird-flu-crisis/ https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/01/21/134m-poultry-and-c... https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-13447-z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-13447-z https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0609227103 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0609227103
llamaimperative 2y ago
It's spreading abroad, but the US seems to be ground zero. The US's agricultural methods also make it extremely vulnerable to infectious disease (if one breaks through the continuous deluge of antibiotics we pump into our animals).
simple10 2y ago
My guess is how lax the US is with factory farm animal welfare. When an epidemic breaks out, it hits these factory farms much harder and the USDA (government food agency) cracks down and indirectly drives up prices.
- bushbaba 2y ago
  Even if it’s not lax. It will spread. There is economy of scale benefits by having larger farms.
Svip 2y ago
The bird flu is mostly contained to North America. Birds fly north/south, not east/west, so so far there has been no reports of it moving across either ocean. This is why Europeans and Asians are terrified of bird flu transmitting between humans, because then an infected human could get on a plane and spread it there. So far, however, that threat remains unrealised.
- llamaimperative 2y ago
  Didn't the UK just cull millions of birds for H5N1?
  - noneeeed 2y ago
    Yes, it's been a big issue here. I've not been actively tracking the price of eggs, but I know it's causing a lot of problems for egg producers.
- giantg2 2y ago
  Albatross and other birds disagree. And don't forget the birds using ships to migrate.
- lm2s 2y ago
  Is this a serious comment? Bird flu is happening right now in EU.
- chneu 2y ago
  nonsense comment. this bird flu is global and has been decimating a ton of wild animals, not just birds. It's been going on for well over a year.
gramie 2y ago
To cite a close-to-home example, chicken farms in Canada typically have about 25,000 chickens, whereas ones in the U.S. often have millions. So an infection that requires the entire flock to be slaughtered has a much bigger effect on the supply of eggs south of the border.
- mrweasel 2y ago
  That makes a lot of sense, because I lookup up how we handle it in Denmark and it's the same, destroy the entire flock if a farm is infected. It's just it's not millions, it's 6000, 40.000, 20.000 chickens per farm, not a million. Weird that the size of the farms aren't being regulated if you know from other countries that it makes containment easier.
  - azinman2 2y ago
    But the population is about 57x smaller. So 17.5k chickens would be equivalent in terms of impact.
    - Symbiote 2y ago
      Are eggs regularly transported long distances in the USA? I don't think I've seen eggs from outside Denmark for sale in Denmark, though many other things (cheese, meat) are. If people in Minnesota (same population) aren't regularly buying eggs from out of state, then the comparison with Denmark holds.
      - mrweasel 2y ago
        > I don't think I've seen eggs from outside Denmark for sale in Denmark, That is because of the strict rules regarding salmonella. Danish chicken farmers will test for salmonella and kill any population of chicken found to have salmonella, leaving our eggs "guaranteed" free of salmonella. Any other country that wish to sell eggs in Denmark will need to be able to make the same guarantee. This is one of the few exceptions for the free movements of goods within the EU.
brendoelfrendo 2y ago
Eggs are usually produced and sold regionally. The current bird flu epidemic impacting US chicken farms will be less impactful elsewhere. I believe there were reported cases of bird flu in Europe at the end of last year, but I don't think they spread to the widespread devastation we're seeing in the US.
lm2s 2y ago
It’s not, bird flu has also been detected 1-2 days ago in Portugal near where I live.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

The below links are not all inclusive, but each touch on your inquiry in various capacities (as the problem is complex and multifaceted). Georgia halted all poultry sales due to infection detections, for example. https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/h5n1-much-more-than-you-wanted-to https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/h5n1-much-more-than-you-wan... https://agr.georgia.gov/pr/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-confirmed-2nd-commercial-poultry-flock-georgia https://agr.georgia.gov/pr/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza... https://www.wusf.org/health-news-florida/2025-02-02/deadly-h5n1-bird-flu-becomes-existential-threat-biodiversity-worldwide https://www.wusf.org/health-news-florida/2025-02-02/deadly-h... https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/01/21/134m-poultry-and-counting-interactive-charts-show-hardest-hit-counties-in-bird-flu-crisis/ https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/01/21/134m-poultry-and-c... https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-13447-z https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-13447-z https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0609227103 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0609227103

llamaimperative 2y ago

It's spreading abroad, but the US seems to be ground zero. The US's agricultural methods also make it extremely vulnerable to infectious disease (if one breaks through the continuous deluge of antibiotics we pump into our animals).

simple10 2y ago

My guess is how lax the US is with factory farm animal welfare. When an epidemic breaks out, it hits these factory farms much harder and the USDA (government food agency) cracks down and indirectly drives up prices.

bushbaba 2y ago
Even if it’s not lax. It will spread. There is economy of scale benefits by having larger farms.

Svip 2y ago

The bird flu is mostly contained to North America. Birds fly north/south, not east/west, so so far there has been no reports of it moving across either ocean. This is why Europeans and Asians are terrified of bird flu transmitting between humans, because then an infected human could get on a plane and spread it there. So far, however, that threat remains unrealised.

llamaimperative 2y ago
Didn't the UK just cull millions of birds for H5N1?
- noneeeed 2y ago
  Yes, it's been a big issue here. I've not been actively tracking the price of eggs, but I know it's causing a lot of problems for egg producers.
giantg2 2y ago
Albatross and other birds disagree. And don't forget the birds using ships to migrate.
lm2s 2y ago
Is this a serious comment? Bird flu is happening right now in EU.
chneu 2y ago
nonsense comment. this bird flu is global and has been decimating a ton of wild animals, not just birds. It's been going on for well over a year.

gramie 2y ago

To cite a close-to-home example, chicken farms in Canada typically have about 25,000 chickens, whereas ones in the U.S. often have millions. So an infection that requires the entire flock to be slaughtered has a much bigger effect on the supply of eggs south of the border.

mrweasel 2y ago
That makes a lot of sense, because I lookup up how we handle it in Denmark and it's the same, destroy the entire flock if a farm is infected. It's just it's not millions, it's 6000, 40.000, 20.000 chickens per farm, not a million. Weird that the size of the farms aren't being regulated if you know from other countries that it makes containment easier.
- azinman2 2y ago
  But the population is about 57x smaller. So 17.5k chickens would be equivalent in terms of impact.
  - Symbiote 2y ago
    Are eggs regularly transported long distances in the USA? I don't think I've seen eggs from outside Denmark for sale in Denmark, though many other things (cheese, meat) are. If people in Minnesota (same population) aren't regularly buying eggs from out of state, then the comparison with Denmark holds.
    - mrweasel 2y ago
      > I don't think I've seen eggs from outside Denmark for sale in Denmark, That is because of the strict rules regarding salmonella. Danish chicken farmers will test for salmonella and kill any population of chicken found to have salmonella, leaving our eggs "guaranteed" free of salmonella. Any other country that wish to sell eggs in Denmark will need to be able to make the same guarantee. This is one of the few exceptions for the free movements of goods within the EU.

brendoelfrendo 2y ago

Eggs are usually produced and sold regionally. The current bird flu epidemic impacting US chicken farms will be less impactful elsewhere. I believe there were reported cases of bird flu in Europe at the end of last year, but I don't think they spread to the widespread devastation we're seeing in the US.

lm2s 2y ago

It’s not, bird flu has also been detected 1-2 days ago in Portugal near where I live.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]