Egg prices soar as bird flu hits poultry flocks

A rapidly escalating outbreak of bird flu in the US is helping egg prices rise and threatens to push up the prices of other poultry products in the coming months as deaths continue to mount.

Cases of highly pathogenic bird flu have killed more than 17 million birds so far, according to the Department of Agriculture. The virus outbreak, the worst in seven years, is hitting egg-laying herds in the Midwest and impacting businesses Tyson Foods Inc. to Hormel food corp More than 11 million egg-laying hens, about 3% of the entire US flock, have died or been wiped out as a result of the disease, along with more than 2 million commercially raised turkeys.