Avian flu is making eggs even more expensive, and the worst is yet to come. This is according to various sources consulted by the Bulletin sister paper Ultima Hora. In the last four years, this staple shopping basket item has risen in price by 49.6% in the Balearics, according to the latest data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food has announced that, starting next Monday, it will implement additional reinforcement measures to prevent the spread of the avian influenza virus, in response to this week’s confirmation of an increased risk due to the proliferation of cases in Europe, migratory movements, and falling temperatures. In the case of the Balearics, for the time being, only livestock markets and fairs are prohibited. However, there are 1,199 in the rest of Spain where the confinement of poultry has been approved, as they are in areas considered to be at special risk and under surveillance.
This will have an impact on the Balearics, since the vast majority of eggs consumed come from the mainland, according to Bartolomé Servera, president of the Balearic Food and Beverage Distributors Association. “They are rising day by day,” he points out. However, he notes that, for the moment, there are no supply problems.
Carles Tarancón, secretary general of ASODIB, which encompasses the main supermarket chains in the Balearics, explains that they have accepted that the price of eggs will continue to rise due to external factors, such as health and production costs. The president of the consumer association Consubal, Alfonso Rodríguez, states that the increase in the price of eggs “is another blow to families with fewer economic resources.” In his view, “this upward trend will continue, but in a moderate way. This increase is basically due to higher production costs (transport, energy, etc.) and the restrictive measures being implemented as a result of the problems caused by the increase in avian flu.”
The Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) points out that the cheapest categories have risen the most, exactly “1 euro compared to just six months ago, representing an increase of 50%.”
This increase, which is in addition to an inflationary trend that began in 2021, represents a cumulative increase of 137% for the cheapest eggs (category M) and 119% for size L eggs.”
Avian influenza, also known as avian flu or bird flu, is a disease caused by the influenza A virus, which primarily affects birds but can sometimes affect mammals including humans. Wild aquatic birds are the primary host of the influenza A virus, which is enzootic (continually present) in many bird populations.
Symptoms of avian influenza vary according to both the strain of virus underlying the infection, and on the species of bird or mammal affected. Classification of a virus strain as either low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) or high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is based on the severity of symptoms in domestic chickens and does not predict severity of symptoms in other species.
Chickens infected with LPAI display mild symptoms or are asymptomatic, whereas HPAI causes serious breathing difficulties, significant drop in egg production, and sudden death. Domestic poultry may potentially be protected from specific strains of the virus by vaccination. Humans and other mammals can only become infected with avian influenza after prolonged close contact with infected birds. Symptoms of infection vary from mild to severe, including fever, diarrhea, and cough.
Influenza A virus is shed in the saliva, mucus, and feces of infected birds; other infected animals may shed bird flu viruses in respiratory secretions and other body fluids (e.g., cow milk). The virus can spread rapidly through poultry flocks and among wild birds. A particularly virulent strain, influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (A/H5N1) has the potential to devastate domesticated poultry stocks and an estimated half a billion farmed birds have been slaughtered in efforts to contain the virus.