Mercer student died of pneumonia not Swine Flu - Coroner

[Ronan Kelly]

Mercer student died of pneumonia not Swine Flu
By LIZ FABIAN - lfabian@macon.com Sign up for daily e-mail news alerts


A Mercer student found dead in his dorm room on Nov. 17th died of lobar pneumonia, not Swine Flu, said Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones.

Ronald Quashie, 19, had been to The Medical Center of Central Georgia two days before with flu-like symptoms and was treated and released.

Toxicology test results that pinpointed the cause of death for the sophomore from the Atlanta area came back Friday afternoon, Jones said.

Mercer closely monitored students who had come in contact before his death.

Quashie was an Alpha Phi Alpha pledge and a week after his death allegations of hazing surfaced against the fraternity that led to the suspension of the Mercer chapter.

In a Jan. 8th news release Mercer President Bill Underwood urged people not to jump to conclusions about Quashie?s death after students reported sleep deprivation, paddling and dietary restrictions imposed on pledges.
http://www.macon.com/149/story/1029931.html

Comment: No explanation as to why a 19 year old developed fatal pneumonia. No explanation of the flu-like symptoms.

 

[ms4920]

Re: Mercer student died of pneumonia not Swine Flu - Coroner

I wonder how they knew it was not h1n1 unless he had a PCR Test? Plus if he was healthy and to die in 2 days, something is not right here.

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Mercer student died of pneumonia not Swine Flu - Coroner

Pneumonia Ruled Cause of Death for Mercer Student

Submitted by Liz Foster on Fri, 2010-02-19 16:49


Officials now know the cause of death of a Mercer University student, who was found dead in his dorm room in November 17th.

Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones says 19-year old Ronald Quashie Jr. died of lobar pneumonia.

An initial autopsy performed in November was inconclusive.

Officials first thought Quashie died of the H1N1 virus, but Jones said lab results showed no signs of the virus

http://www.41nbc.com/news/1002191364617/pneumonia-ruled-cause-death-mercer-student

 

[Farmer]

Re: Mercer student died of pneumonia not Swine Flu - Coroner

Apparently, lobar pneumonia is most frequently associated with bacterial pneumonia which we know is a frequent complication of primary H1N1 viral pneumonia. We also know that frequently there is no detectable virus late in infection.

"Lobar pneumonia is exudative inflammation involving a whole lobe, or a large portion of a lobe of lung.

*90-95% of cases are caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Occasional cases are due to Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococus, Streptococcus, Hemophilus influenzae, or Gram-negative bacteria."

http://www.pathology.vcu.edu/education/dental2/pneumonia.html

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Mercer student died of pneumonia not Swine Flu - Coroner

... Mercer students reported the hazing concerns a week after sophomore Ronald Quashie, an APA pledge, was found dead in his dorm room in mid-November.

The 19-year-old from the Atlanta area had been treated at a Macon hospital a day or two earlier after complaining of a sore throat, chills and congestion.

Collins said Thursday that hazing “didn’t have anything to do” with Quashie’s death.

The college’s Jan. 8 release mentions Quashie’s death, about which Underwood states: “Speculation about a possible connection between the alleged hazing and Mr. Quashie’s death is understandable, just as earlier speculation centered around H1N1 as the cause of death ....

http://www.macon.com/2010/02/05/1011384/alpha-phi-alpha-fraternity-at.html