Since January, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Texas have stopped at least 90 people from smuggling eggs into the country from Mexico, the agency said in a news release Friday.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, specialists in the El Paso, Texas area have issued 16 civil penalties totaling almost $4,000 linked to the attempted smuggling of prohibited products such as raw eggs.

It is illegal to bring fresh eggs, raw chicken, unprocessed avian products and live birds into the U.S., the agency said, adding that travelers should declare all agriculture products to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and agriculture specialists.

“Failure to declare may lead to potential fines and penalties,” the agency said.

U.S. Customs and the agency Border Protection issued a reminder that raw egg imports from Mexico are prohibited due to health concerns regarding Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza or bird flu.

Egg prices have risen since 2022 due to rising cases of the bird flu, and there have also been reports of egg shortages amid the chaos. Some experts say consumers are contributing to the egg shortage by panic buying, much like what happened with toilet paper during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some consumers who previously bought a dozen eggs at a time are now buying four dozen, Saloni Vastani, an associate professor of marketing at Emory University, previously told USA TODAY.

“Egg prices are going up because of the avian flu, but that’s driving people to buy more eggs than they usually do because they’re anticipating higher prices and reduced grocery store supply,” Vastani said.
Bird flu and its symptoms

Bird flu is widespread in wild birds and has caused outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the CDC). There have been multiple human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers, although the agency said the public health risk is low.

There have been 70 cases of the bird flu in the U.S., with one leading to death, the CDC said.

Mild symptoms of bird flu in humans include eye redness and irritation, mild fever, cough and fatigue.

Moderate to severe disease symptoms include high fever, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing and seizures.

Complications from bird flu can also lead to pneumonia, respiratory failure, acute kidney injury, multi-organ failure (respiratory and kidney failure), sepsis or septic shock.

Infected birds transmit the bird flu through their saliva, mucus and feces, the CDC said. Humans can contract it if the virus gets into their eyes, nose or mouth. This can happen when the virus is in the air, a person breathes it in or possibly when someone touches something contaminated by the virus and then touches their mouth, eyes or nose.

There is no cure for the bird flu and antibiotics are “useless against viruses,” according to experts from the University of Tennessee. The researchers added that multiple companies are currently working on a vaccine though.

“Vaccination would potentially result in fewer outbreaks and lessen the financial impact on the government and both the public and private sectors,” the researchers wrote.