What Is Bird Flu and How Does It Affect Egg Prices?

The latest figures reveal the country’s current outbreak of bird flu is showing no signs of slowing down as more cases and hospitalizations are being reported, raising concerns over the potential health threat as the country also contends with one of its worst seasons for influenza in years.

A total of 70 human cases of the H5N1 virus have been confirmed in the U.S. as of Feb. 24, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Thus far, one human death has been associated with the virus in the U.S., an elderly Louisiana patient who died in January after being exposed to a combination of wild birds and a non-commercial backyard flock of poultry, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Concerns over bird flu outbreak coincide with a harsher than normal flu season, with estimates of between 33 million and 56 million influenza cases occurring in the U.S. between Oct. 1 and Feb. 15, according to the most recent CDC figures.

Beyond the health implications, the effects of the bird flu outbreak are being felt economically in the form of rising poultry and egg prices.

Here’s what you need to know about bird flu and the threat it poses to public health.