The humble egg is now a source of frustration for millions of shoppers around the U.S, who face soaring prices and shortages. What's going on?

Egg prices are already high, but officials say they are only going to go up more in 2025. Here's how much you could pay and why they are so expensive.

Egg prices have more than doubled over the last two years as a dangerous strain of bird flu has swept across the country.

That’s also true of handling eggs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Government officials have put very strict surveillance in place for egg-laying hens across the U.S., making it very likely that infected poultry or eggs will be detected quickly.

The USDA attributed the rise in egg costs to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, which has caused a strain in supply. The rise in prices is not sudden, as eggs cost 36.

More than 145 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been slaughtered since the current bird flu outbreak began in 2022.