Eggs Unlimited Vice President of Brian Moscogiuri explains why egg prices continue to skyrocket as the outbreak of avian flu slows production.
The federal government granted Zoetis a conditional license to the avian flu vaccine for use in chickens as the outbreak of bird flu continues to destroy flocks across the country and affects the country’s egg supply.
The Agriculture Bureau’s Veterinary Biology Center (CVB) issues a conditional license for its H5N2 avian influenza vaccine based on “Demonstration of safety, purity and reasonable expectations of efficacy based on serology data.” I did.
H5N2 is a different subtype than the H5N1 subtype, an H5N1 subtype occurring in poultry and in U.S. dairy cows, and according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), it has recently been found in dairy and poultry workers. There are several human cases. But the news still gives farmers hope.
More than 150 million birds, including US backyards and commercial flocks, have been affected by the virus since February 2022, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Testing Service (APHIS).
Includes backyards and commercial herds.
When a new strain of avian flu was identified in early 2022, Mahesh Kumar, senior vice president of global biology research and development at Zoetis, said that the company’s scientists “quickly” was to update their previous avian flu vaccine. I’ve started working.”
According to Zoetis, these licenses are issued in the event of “urgent conditions, limited markets, local circumstances, or other special circumstances.” They will be issued for a limited period of time, but may be updated by CVB.
The eggs are believed to be empty as shelves are empty due to the Virginia egg crisis on February 12, 2025. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Experts say the price of eggs won’t drop anytime soon
This is the fourth year the virus has crippled farmers and continues to emerge in early 2025. Once the virus is detected, the farm is instructed to kill the entire herd and eradicate the disease. In the US food system.
The USDA said the disease is highly contagious and that a single bird can spread “from herd to herd within a few days.” He said excessive or euthanasia of affected animals was “one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of disease and protect the overall health of animals in the United States.”
The USDA said the disease is highly contagious and that a single bird can spread “from herd to herd within a few days.” (Photographer: Getty Images/Marykan via Getty Images/Bloomberg)
Chad Gregory, CEO of United Egg Producer, a farmer-owned cooperative that represents the majority of US egg producers, said that Zoetis’ recent announcement of a conditional use license, “Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.” “We are encouraged to develop vaccine strategies for other countries,” he said early success with avian flu vaccines.
Still, he noted that there is still much work left to do, including getting the government to allow the vaccine to be used and dealing with the trade impact before it was deployed in the US.
Click here to get your Fox business on the go
Bernt Nelson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, told Fox Business that the group is supporting research to develop safe and effective avian influenza vaccines, but until that happens, the virus is still on the rise. It said that including the spread of the
“American farmers are committed to ensuring a safe and abundant food supply and take the threat of HPAI seriously,” Nelson said, adding that “the strict biosecurity measures on farms and the excess of infected birds. He added that the evidence of extreme length is evidence of farmers, in order to protect the population flocks and the health of the American people.”
