WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A study found that eating egg yolks reduces the severity of COVID.
OUR VERDICT
False. The research was not conducted on humans and no conclusions were reached.
AAP FACTCHECK - A study did not find that eating eggs can ease the severity of COVID-19 infection, despite an online claim.
An Australian Facebook video shows excerpts of a research study which a voiceover claimings had shown "egg yolk antibodies were found to block the binding of multiple spike protein variants within humans".
"So basically," the voice continues, "eating egg yolks stopped the severity of the 'vid'," which is an abbreviation sometimes used for COVID.
Text overlaying the video reads: "The real reason they are killing egg laying chickens."
The Facebook reel also claims the egg supply is being "deliberately sabotaged".
It refers to the avian flu H5N1 virus and its effect on egg supplies worldwide, implying the killing of millions of birds in the US to prevent flu infections, as reported in the LA Times, is somehow linked to COVID.
The video refers to a study undertaken by Chinese researchers published in the peer-reviewed journal International Immunopharmacology in 2021.
The research, done well before COVID vaccines became widely available, looks at the potential use of egg yolk antibodies as a neutralising agent against COVID.
However, that study does not claim that eating egg yolks will prevent or lessen the severity of COVID.
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, who conducted the study, did not respond to AAP FactCheck requests for comment.
However, some of the researchers have previously spoken out about similar false claims.
Team member Duan Shengbao told AFP Fact Check in February 2023 the research wasn't conducted on humans and they were unable to reach a conclusion.
"At this stage, we cannot infer if this antibody is effective in the prevention of contracting COVID-19 in humans," he said.
"We need more studies for that."
In the study, the researchers immunised hens with COVID spike proteins (which enable the virus to penetrate host cells and cause infection) and isolated the subsequently produced antibodies from the yolks.
The study was only done in a laboratory setting (in vitro) and not tested on humans at all.
In their conclusion, the researchers wrote the anti-Spike-S1 IgYs (egg yolk antibodies) "showed significant neutralizing potency against SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, various S mutants, and even SARS-CoV in vitro", but noted further testing was needed.
"The use of IgYs in aerosol or spray formulations on the respiratory tract, the oral cavity, and even the digestive tract may be a worthwhile strategy," they added.
The study does not state that eating egg yolks reduces the severity of COVID in humans.
The Facebook reel also misleads by suggesting the study's finding applies to all eggs - a point the narrator uses to support the assertion the food supply has been deliberately disrupted.
The effects noted in the study were specifically in chickens immunised by the researchers.
Similar work on egg yolk antibodies and COVID has been done by a team at the University of California, Davis.
Poultry medicine expert Rodrigo Gallardo told AAP FactCheck researchers immunised hens with a recombinant protein of COVID-19 and then obtained, from the same hens' eggs yolks, antibodies that could neutralise the virus, in vitro.
He said the Davis laboratory focuses more on endemic viruses affecting the poultry industry than COVID research, adding that while he wasn't familiar with the Chinese study, it's difficult for an antibody to prevent infection if ingested because conditions in the gut are likely to destroy the antibody's structure.
Professor Gallardo said there was more possibility of a spray being developed using antibodies that could eventually be used as a preventative against COVID.
In addition to AFP Fact Check's work, similar misleading claims about the Chinese study have been debunked by the Associated Press and Health Desk.
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, BlueSky, TikTok and YouTube.
