Carlos Herrera (COPE), on the rise in the price of eggs due to avian flu: "They have become 50% more expensive"

The increase in cases of avian flu in Europe and, in Spain in particular, has forced the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to adopt drastic measures to contain the spread of the virus. To begin with, the confinement of birds in almost 1,200 municipalities in the country already represents an important control, but it has also been planned the preventive slaughter of two million chickens layers.

According to data from the European Animal Disease Information System (ADIS), between July 1 and November 5 139 outbreaks were recorded in poultry farms in Europe, 14 of them in Spain. The situation has led the authorities to identify areas of “risk” and “high risk”where the presence of migratory birds is more intense. These species, which travel from affected regions, often act as natural vectors of the virus.

The probability of an ‘egg crisis’ occurring

The measures adopted by the Ministry seek to reduce any possibility of contact between wild and poultry birds. These include the ban on raising poultry outdoorsas well as using birds of the orders anseriformes (ducks, geese) and charadriforms (seagulls, plovers, etc.) as a decoy. It has also been joint breeding of ducks or geese is prohibited with other domestic species, given that some of them are especially susceptible to the virus.

Although the measures were designed out of caution, journalist Carlos Herrera, in his program on COPE, ironically addressed a real concern, and it is nothing more and nothing less, the effect of avian flu on prices. As Herrera explained, the reduction in the number of laying hens implies lower egg production. “The egg will be more expensive because there are fewer chickens and the egg continues to be consumed. And in what way,” he noted.

Bird flu in the world

This phenomenon is not exclusive to Spain. In the United States, for example, bird flu outbreaks had already caused a shortage of eggs and an increase in prices. around 50% so far this year. Added to this are the high costs of feed, energy and transportation, which further aggravates the situation for producers.

Europe has been implementing protocols for years to quickly detect outbreaks, isolate them and prevent them from spreading. Vaccination of birds, An option that until recently was considered secondary, is beginning to gain ground as a complementary control tool. In fact, some trials with intranasal vaccines have shown promising results against different strains of the virus.