Scrambling for Answers: Are Eggs Safe Amid D1.1 Bird Flu?

Bird Flu, also known as H5N1 avian influenza, is responsible for high egg prices. That’s because many poultry flocks have been culled over the last few months. Last week, the Department of Agriculture reported a new strain of bird flu, D1.1, among dairy cattle in Nevada. This variant has been circulating among wild birds and has crossed over to chickens. People are starting to wonder if eggs could be contaminated with the D1.1 bird flu virus. The answer is surprisingly inadequate.

What Do We Know About D1.1 Bird Flu?

Do you remember COVID-19? Most people would like to forget about this coronavirus and the havoc it wrought. But like the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the H5N1 avian influenza virus is also mutating. There have been lots of variants over the last few years.

The virus has managed to infect a wide variety of wild birds all over the world. No one really knows how many have died, but it is likely in the hundreds of millions. And it has spread to all sorts of poultry including chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, swans, storks, quail and pheasants.

But bird flu is not restricted to birds. The H5N1 avian influenza virus has been detected in dogs, cats, goats, seals, skunks, lions, tigers, cows, pigs, mink, bears, foxes, dolphins and the list goes on. Humans have also been infected.

The D1.1 Bird Flu Variant:

The strain of avian flu that was circulating in 2024 was mostly B3.13. But the person who died from bird flu in Louisiana recently apparently contracted D1.1. A dairy worker in Nevada has just been diagnosed with H5N1 and it has also been identified as the new D1.1 bird flu variant. Public health authorities continue to monitor such human cases carefully in the event that this new variant becomes readily transmissible.

What About D1.1 Bird Flu in Cattle and Chickens?

The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) is based at the University of Minnesota. It:

“ is a global leader in addressing public health preparedness and emerging infectious disease response.”

On Feb. 6, 2025 CIDRAP reports:

“…the four latest detections in Churchill County [Nevada] involved the D1.1 genotype, which is circulating in wild birds and has been linked to two severe human infections.”

The farm worker in Nevada was infected with D1.1 bird flu. He apparently caught it from the dairy cows he was caring for. This variant has also been found in raw milk.

Some experts worry that the D1.1 mutation will allow bird flu to cross over to mammals more easily. According to the CDC on Feb. 11, 2025, there have been at least 68 confirmed human cases of bird flu in the US.  Of that total, 15 appear to be the D1.1 bird flu variant.

Are Vets Catching Bird Flu?

On February 13, 2025 the CDC released a report that reveals some veterinarians who care for cattle became infected with H5N1 avian influenza. The incidence appears low, just 3 out of 150 practitioners. There’s more good news. They did not complain of pink eye or respiratory symptoms. But one of the veterinarians tested positive even though there had been no reports of H5N1 infection in the animals he cared for.

The Washington Post (Feb. 13, 2025) summarizes the critical finding from the CDC this way:

“The report is the latest evidence that the outbreak in dairy herds is spreading undetected in cows, and the spillover into people at highest risk of exposure is going unnoticed.

“The findings underscore what many public health and infectious-disease experts have been saying for months: that H5N1 cases are being missed because the virus is spreading silently and more widely than official reports indicate.”

I suspect that more than 68 Americans have been infected with bird flu. I was alarmed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was forced to pause this important news along with its weekly Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). A perspective published in the New England Journal of Medicine (Feb. 12, 2025) notes that the CDC, the FDA and the NIH (National Institutes of Health) were told to pause public communications. It was titled: “The Consequences of Silencing the ‘Voice of CDC.'”

The authors conclude:

“The ongoing existing and potential threats to the health of the U.S. population [H5N1 influenza virus, tuberculosis outbreaks, reemergence of Ebola] underscore the reality that we cannot afford a cessation of data-driven updates from our country’s lead public health agency. It is essential that decisions regarding updates on public health issues necessary to protect individuals, communities, and the country are made by experts in public health and medicine.”

I believe it is critical that we start doing more testing for D1.1 bird flu and other variants of avian influenza. The US Department of Agriculture should require more testing of chickens, eggs, cows and milk to reassure the American public that the virus is not penetrating our food supply. And people who are hospitalized with respiratory tract infections should also be tested.

Is It Safe To Eat Eggs?

First, there is a lot we do not know about avian influenza in general and D1.1 bird flu in particular. We know that this variant has infected a lot of wild birds and has crossed over to cows. It is found in raw milk. Chicken farmers culled over 40 million birds in December and January.

NBC news reported on Feb. 9, 2025 that:

“New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered a temporary closure of live-poultry markets after bird flu was detected in the outer boroughs of New York City.

“The order, signed by Hochul on Friday, requires the markets to close down between Feb. 7 and Feb. 14 as facilities undergo a complete disinfection process.”

In case you have not noticed, egg prices are through the roof in some places. According to FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) on Feb. 12, 2025, the average price in the US is right around $5 for a dozen Grade A, large eggs.  That is the highest price for eggs in 45 years. In some places, a dozen eggs cost more than $7. In other places, there are no eggs to be purchased.

Has the D1.1 Bird Flu Virus Been Detected in Eggs?

I have searched high and low to see whether the FDA or the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) or any other agency has reported on test results from chicken farms. One might assume that organizations charged with protecting the public safety would be testing raw eggs just as they have been testing raw milk.

Try as I might, though, I can find no reports of results one way or the other. That seems highly unusual. I suspect that if any organization has been testing raw eggs for avian influenza and the results were negative, we would be reading that good news. Finding nothing makes me suspicious. Then again, it is entirely possible that no one is actually testing raw eggs, which in itself seems irresponsible.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

What I have found are lots of reassurances that it is safe to eat eggs. We are told that if raw eggs are contaminated with H5N1 they probably would not make it to market. Really? Egg farmers may be a little reluctant to throw away thousands of eggs, just to be on the safe side. As far as we can tell, there are no quick tests being made available to chicken farmers to test their eggs for the D1.1 bird flu variant.

We are also told that eggs are washed and sanitized. So, nothing to worry about on the eggs. Truthfully, we are not worried about the eggshells. It’s what’s inside the eggs that concerns us.

Then we are told that chickens would probably die from avian influenza before they laid any contaminated eggs. So, don’t worry, be happy! Really?

The New York Times (Feb. 5, 2025) quotes one of the experts:

“‘Dead birds don’t lay eggs,’ said Dr. Gail Hansen, a veterinary public health expert and consultant in Washington, D.C. When the virus does affect a flock, its eggs are typically removed from the food supply.”

We are reassured that in such situations eggs are “typically” removed from the food supply. Why doesn’t that feel completely reassuring?

Cooked Eggs to the Rescue?

The final argument about egg safety goes: you have nothing to worry about…as long as the eggs are cooked. First, we are told that there have been no cases of H5N1 avian influenza linked to eggs. Next, we are told that as long as eggs are heated to 160-165 degrees F, there is absolutely nothing to worry about.

Let’s hit the pause button for a moment. Have you ever used a food thermometer to measure the temperature of your eggs? I didn’t think so. We certainly don’t do that, whether it’s scrambled eggs, sunny-side-up eggs, over-easy eggs, soft boiled eggs or a “runny” omelet. But we doubt that every part of the eggs we cook hits 165 degrees for any length of time.

Food experts say that eggs get hard around 160 degrees. There is no “runniness” at that temperature. Think hard-cooked firm scrambled eggs or hard boiled eggs. But a lot of people like runny egg yolks. By definition, that means the temperature has not reached 160-165 degrees F. We did test our most recent batch of scrambled eggs, and they were still tasty after reaching 160 degrees F.

Final Words on D1.1 Bird Flu:

The question remains, are eggs safe from H5N1 avian influenza? Every “expert” that I have read appears to say yes, as long as the eggs are well cooked. I guess that is reassuring. But what if you are like me and enjoy your egg yolks runny? Are you taking a risk? If so, how big a risk? The experts have not weighed in on that question.

We would like to know whether anyone is actually testing raw eggs for the D1.1 bird flu variant. And speaking of testing, when will there be an over-the-counter test for bird flu? It seems as if that would be a valuable tool to detect a more widespread outbreak in humans.

We hope that bird flu never becomes a problem for humans. But we would like you to know that bird flu has reared its ugly head before. An article in Lancet Infectious Diseases (Sept. 2024) reported that an earlier outbreak of influenza A (H5N1) had a mortality rate of 52%. That statistic is mind bending. You can read more about this story in our article at this link:

“What Will You Do if Bird Flu Sweeps Through?”

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