OHIO — Grocery stores are feeling the brunt of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, otherwise known as bird flu. 

Ohio residents may have already seen the effects — wiped out shelves of eggs, costs rising, and now, a limit on how many they can purchase in some stores.

Some grocery chains are placing limits as egg demand surges but supplies deplete. At Giant Eagle, the store is asking customers to buy no more than three cartons of eggs at a time. Additionally, the chain said it has updated the egg pricing model to sell conventional eggs at or below cost.

“To best support our customers during this uncertain time, we have made the decision to sell all conventional shelled eggs at or below our cost across all our supermarkets," Giant Eagle wrote in a statement to Spectrum News 1. "Additionally, we are updating our in-store signage to encourage customers to limit their purchases to no more than three egg cartons per transaction to help ensure supply for as many customers as possible. While it is difficult for any retailer to predict the impact the avian influenza and other factors will have on egg costs in the coming weeks and months, we believe these actions are necessary to show up for our customers at this important moment.”

Other stores, including Trader Joe's and Costco, are also putting limits on egg purchases. 

Trader Joe’s is capping purchases to one carton per customer each day, the Monrovia, California-based chain confirmed. That limit applies to all of Trader Joe’s locations across the country.

“We hope these limits will help to ensure that as many of our customers who need eggs are able to purchase them when they visit Trader Joe’s,” the company said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Costco is limiting purchases to three packs of eggs per customer. 

Kroger and Meijer stated to Spectrum News 1 that they haven't instituted limits yet, but Kroger said it's continuing to monitor the situation. 

Walmart says it also hasn’t imposed national limits — except for bulkier purchases of 60-count cartons, which have been capped to two per purchase, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant confirmed Tuesday.

Eggs soared to record prices, according to the latest monthly consumer index. It shows that the average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in the U.S. reached $4.95 in January, beating the previous record of $4.82 set two years ago. It's also more than double the low of $2.04 recorded in August 2023.

Relief is not expected any time soon. Egg prices typically spike around Easter due to high holiday demand, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted last month that egg prices were likely to go up 20% this year.

It's also the worst spike in egg prices since the last bird flu outbreak in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Ohio currently leads the nation in most confirmed bird flu cases among commercial flocks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In the past 30 days, officials have confirmed the bird flu in 54 Ohio commercial flocks. Most recently, the bird flu affected more than 20,000 birds in Mercer County on Feb. 10, and on Feb. 7, more than 400,000 birds were affected in the same county, USDA data shows.

“Ohio is experiencing the largest outbreak of positive detections in commercial poultry to date, which requires critical action from our department and our federal partners, to contain and prevent the spread of disease,” said Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge said in a release. “As we continue to respond to these incidents, our staff on site continues to educate farmers and their workers on best biosecurity practices. We strongly encourage all Ohio farmers to use good biosecurity to help keep disease away from the farm.”

Additionally, the Ohio Department of Health confirmed the first possible human case of bird flu. ODH said it was a farm worker in Mercer County, who was in contact with dead commercial poultry infected with the virus.

The threat to the public is low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but ODH warns residents to take precautions, such as wearing gloves, a mask and other protective equipment when coming into contact with infected birds, dead or alive. 

The Associated Press contributed to this article.