By Walt Hickey Eggs A dozen large eggs in the American Midwest is now going for around $5 at wholesale, up from $1.60 at the same time last year. That’s owing to a bird flu that is absolutely ripping through the poultry population of the United States, the worst bird flu outbreak ever. So far 57.5 million birds have died as a result of outbreaks, most of which are egg-laying hens. Last week 4.3 million birds died, and the flu is expected to continue for the rest of the winter, meaning that prices will likely remain high. It’s already past the previous worst flu on record, which claimed 50.5 million birds in 2015.