Skyrocketing Egg Prices Linked to Deadly Flu Outbreak That Has Killed Over 50 Million Birds Since Last Year

Eggflation is here, and it is no yolk.

Eggs have not been immune from the surging inflation driving up costs across the food sector these past two years.

But the price of the household staple suddenly skyrocketed in December according to the Consumer Price Index Summary, reaching a historic high.

That is largely due to the deadly flu outbreak sweeping the U.S. which has already claimed the lives of 49 million ... birds.

"So, the big reason prices are really soaring right now is because of the avian influenza outbreak or bird flu and it's the deadliest outbreak of all time," Wall Street Journal agriculture reporter Patrick Thomas tells Inside Edition.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that since 2022, "more than 49 million birds in 46 states have either died as a result of bird flu virus infection or have been culled (killed) due to exposure to infected birds."

Fewer birds mean fewer eggs means higher demand means higher prices.

This price hike is hitting both families and small businesses hard, such as Eileen's Special Cheesecake in New York City.

The bakery tells Inside Edition that they go through "thousands" of eggs on a daily basis, and while they could cut corners, they will not sacrifice the quality of their product due to the limited quantity of eggs.

It is not all bad news though for consumers.

In fact, both the public and Federal Reserve both had reason to celebrate on Thursday with the news that inflation had slowed down for a sixth straight month, according to the Consumer Price Index Summary.

Gasoline, used cars, and energy commodities notched the biggest decreases, while the food sector continued to increase according to the latest data.

The 0.3% increase in the food sector was driven in large part by the index for eggs, which rose a staggering 11.1% in the month of December.

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