January 10, 2025
4 minimum read
Can you get avian influenza from eggs? Answers to questions about egg safety
Eggs can carry nasty viruses and bacteria. Introducing safe storage and eating methods

Veronique Duplan/Alamy Stock Photo
Eggs can be eaten in many different forms, including scrambled, poached, fried, boiled, omelets, soufflés, custards, and meringues. However, food safety experts say it should not be consumed raw.
That’s because eggs can harbor dangerous bacteria and viruses that can make us sick. The most familiar culprit is salmonella, A bacteria that can cause severe food poisoning, causing diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting. The overall incidence is Salmonella It is present in a low percentage of eggs, approximately 1 in 20,000. Nevertheless, “one of the safest methods is to simply cook the food,” says Michael Persia, the John W. Hancock Professor of Animal Science at Virginia Tech.
How to safely store and cook eggs
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To minimize Salmonella Because of the risks, eggs sold commercially in the United States are washed to remove bacteria and kept refrigerated until sold. Persia said U.S. consumers should keep store-bought eggs refrigerated. This is because the outer antibacterial coating called the cuticle, or bloom, is removed during the cleaning process. In Europe, eggs are not washed and the bloom remains intact, so they can be stored at room temperature. Eggs from farmers markets in the United States can be washed or unwashed. Even if you haven’t washed it, we recommend storing it in the refrigerator as it will last a long time.
Then there’s pasteurization, which is a heating process that kills bacteria. Most store-bought whole eggs in the shell are not pasteurized, so it’s important to cook them until the temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71.1 degrees Celsius). A good rule of thumb is to cook eggs until the yolks are set. However, in the United States, all commercial egg products, such as liquid egg yolks and egg whites, must be pasteurized. Nursing homes, daycares, and other places that serve people who may be immunocompromised often use egg products for this reason.
Do not leave food containing eggs for more than 2 hours, or for more than 1 hour if the ambient temperature is above 90 °F (32.2 °C). That said, many baking recipes call for using room temperature eggs, but it’s okay to simply remove them from the refrigerator 30 minutes to an hour before baking.
Can you get avian influenza from chicken eggs?
In recent years, another nasty insect has been plaguing poultry and, in turn, damaging egg production. A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza known as H5N1 is circulating in wild and poultry populations, causing hundreds of outbreaks and egg shortages in U.S. birds since January 2022. But Persia, who conducts biosecurity audits of poultry farms, says it is unlikely that humans could contract the virus by eating commercial chicken eggs. “The risk is very, very, very low or non-existent,” he added. This is because commercial farms have strict biosecurity measures in place to separate domestic birds from wild birds, and because the H5N1 virus is highly lethal to poultry, farmers are forced to prevent the virus from contaminating eggs. That’s because entire herds have to be culled quickly, he said. “One of the biosecurity points that we really look at from an audit perspective is, ‘If the birds are housed indoors, do outdoor birds have access to that?'” Persia says. “In fact,[farmers]put different kinds of guards on the air intakes to keep the birds away from the flock.”
This is easier for indoor birds than for outdoor birds. Backyard poultry poses a potential risk because it can come into contact with wild birds and contaminants, Persia said. He recommends feeding backyard birds indoors, even in areas with outdoor access, to avoid attracting wild birds. Another tip: Use special shoes when walking inside the chicken coop to avoid stepping on pathogens from the outside.
Dairy cows have other risks. These cows do not necessarily need to be removed from the milking herd, as they do not become as sick as chickens when infected with H5N1. Raw milk from infected cows contains high levels of H5N1, and cats who drink it have died. However, pasteurization kills the virus, so pasteurized milk is safe to consume.
Since the beginning of 2024, more than 65 people have been infected with H5N1 in the United States. Most of them were dairy and poultry workers. Infections in dairy workers are generally mild, causing conjunctivitis and mild respiratory symptoms. However, at least two people have fallen seriously ill with the H5N1 strain, which is related to the D1.1 genotype and is currently circulating in domestic and wild birds. Those two cases included one person in Louisiana who died from the infection. The Louisiana patient had contact with both wild birds and backyard poultry.
The longer H5N1 circulates in cattle and poultry, the more likely it is to spread among humans. But for now, at least, take comfort in knowing that eggs are safe as long as you cook them.