Eggs are once again through the roof, although supermarkets place them on the lowest shelves.
There are not a dozen that are less than three dollars in New York stores, with an increase of almost 50% in recent weeks in the smaller units, deserving of "organic" origin, always much more expensive and now with double reason.
Avian fever, which returns as soon as it is thought to have disappeared, is beginning to take its toll in the United States. And not only because of the rising price of the shopping basket due to the millions of birds killed globally since 2021 and the obligation of poultry farmers to sacrifice farm production in its entirety.
Cow herds recently tested positive for this virus in some states, and in Texas at least one person was found to have been infected. So many Americans have numerous misgivings about the possibility of getting sick.
Texas health authorities indicated that this person tested positive after being in contact with cattle. The only symptom that was detected in that patient was that she had pink eyes or conjunctivitis, as explained by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Then it emerged that cows with that flu virus, H5N1, had also been detected in Michigan. These animals had arrived from Texas.
Officials tried to send a message of calm. They insisted that the risk to public health remains low and indicated that there are ways for citizens to avoid contagion.
They maintain that it is an evolving situation. The experts stated that, if the virus is transmitted from cow to cow, monitoring must continue to detect any type of potential mutation that in the long term could spread to other species, including humans on a massive scale.
For now, this mutation has not been observed so, with some exceptions, there is nothing to indicate that it is a pathogen transmissible to the human species.
Avian flu spreads mainly through contact with affected birds and most cases of human contamination were due to the person having unprotected contact.
The Texas infection is only the second time in the US that a human has contracted this virus, the CDC reported. A person from Colorado suffered from it in 2022 after being in contact with infected poultry
But the threat is increasing because the US Veterinary Medical Association assured that this is the first time that this flu has been detected in dairy cows.
Texas medical officials issued an alert this week asking health providers in the state to be on the lookout for people who have symptoms and may have been exposed to a human or animal infected with bird flu. The CDC insisted that human-to-human transmission is very rare.
The new cases come just days after a group of young goats contracted the virus on a Minnesota farm.
Avian flu infects the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts of birds. It is often fatal to the avian population. It can be transmitted from wild birds to poultry intended for consumption, as well as to terrestrial and marine mammals and humans.
Meanwhile, the price of eggs is rising because the main producer in the United States had to stop its work when the contagion was detected in Texas. Cal.Maine Foods reported that they had to slaughter more than two million chickens, of which 1.6 million were laying hens. And it does not affect the consumption of dairy products. They say that, in a week, the cows recover.
