The avian flu outbreak is causing a surge in egg prices, as 39 million birds have already been killed by the extremely contagious virus. A quarter of the chickens that produce "breaker eggs," or eggs sold in liquid form for commercial use, are already affected, causing their wholesale prices to triple. Meanwhile, "shell eggs," the type sold in grocery stores, have seen wholesale price increases of up to 85 percent. Iowa, the largest producer of eggs in the U.S., has already lost a quarter of its laying hens. The highly infectious strain of bird flu has been so devastating partially because of the "massive populations" of chickens on farms today — sometimes up to 1 million. The effects of the outbreak are expected to last for years as egg manufacturers struggle to repopulate their facilities.
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