A mass amount of chickens from the Palau Mission Academy (PMA) Poultry Farm died in a matter of days causing concerns in the Republic.
On March 31, 2014, a team of experts from the Ministry of Health, Quarantine Office, Bureau of Agriculture, and the Koror State Animal Shelter were dispatched to the farm in Airai State to investigate what caused about 171 chickens to die.
Initial reports indicated that the Avian Influenza also known as the bird flu caused the deaths.
For the safety of the workers on the farm and the public, the farm was quarantined for several hours until the workers were cleared of any type of disease related to the dead birds.
Two workers who displayed some symptoms such as headache and runny nose were tested extensively and later cleared of H5N1 including H1N1.
Majority of tests conducted by authorities were tested negative, but some tests were inconclusive.
Authorities are now looking into sending some samples from the dead birds to Hawaii for further testing.
Palau Mission Academy Principal Abner Sanchez told OTV that the deaths began around Thursday of last week lasting to Monday March 31, 2014.
Sanchez disclosed that majority of the deaths came from one specific age group, in this case one-month-old birds.
Since the incident was reported to authorities, approximately 300 birds have died from an unknown source. The matter is still under investigation and testing.
Officials are asking the public not to consume products supplied from the farm such as eggs and chickens, and to stay clear of the farm area until the matter resolved.
