Bird flu hits McDonald's Australia breakfast hours

Australian who are fans of a late morning McDonald's breakfast are having to wake up earlier.

The US fast food giant has temporarily shortened the hours of its breakfast service in the country by 90 minutes due to an egg shortage caused by a bird flu outbreak.

It is currently serving its full breakfast menu only until 10:30am, instead of the usual midday.

"Like many retailers, we are carefully managing supply of eggs due to the current industry challenges," McDonald's Australia said in a statement sent to the BBC.

"We’re continuing to work closely with our network of Aussie farmers, producers, and suppliers, as the industry comes together to manage this challenge."

Several strains of bird flu have been detected in 11 poultry facilities across southeast Australia in the past two months.

Authorities have said they have the situation under control.

"Consumers can expect to see some empty shelves in the short-term, however, supplies are being re-directed to areas with short supply," the Australian government said.

"Consumers should refrain from purchasing more eggs than required."

Bird flu has affected fewer than 10% of Australia's egg laying hens but, some businesses have imposed limits on how many eggs people can buy.

The outbreaks have led to the culling of about 1.5m chickens in Australia.

So far, none of the strains detected have been the H5N1 variant of bird flu.

H5N1 has spread through bird and mammal populations globally, infecting billions of animals and a small number of humans.