Bird flu, also known as H5N1, continues to spread among U.S. livestock, driving up egg prices and worrying public health experts.

Researchers have stressed that bird flu still poses a minimal risk to the general public, though that may change as the virus continues to circulate and potentially mutate. But the many empty shelves in stores and higher prices on the eggs that people can find have raised concerns among consumers about the safety of the egg supply.

The highly contagious bird flu has hit Montgomery County, Maryland, where officials say a backyard flock of chickens tested positive for the virus, making it the first case of a homeowner’s birds having the virus in Maryland this year and bringing the number of cases in the D.

Health officials have confirmed the presence of H5N1 (bird flu) in a backyard poultry flock in San Mateo County. The county said that while there are no current human cases of bird flu, this detection of the disease highlights the risk to “anyone who handles,