Investigators want to do more tests in student's death
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
State health officials are awaiting more tests to pinpoint the cause of death of a Hawai'i college student who died in Maryland after coming down with a flu-like illness.
Simon Hultman, 22, of Pahoa on the Big Island, died last month after spending the holidays visiting family and hiking and swimming in Hawai'i.
Simon Hultman
Sharon Beauchan, one of Hultman's sisters, said yesterday the state Health Department told their family that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to do more tests before making a determination of what caused the fatal illness.
Beauchan said officials indicated to her that they are leaning toward leptospirosis—a bacterial disease commonly picked up in freshwater sources that have been contaminated by animal urine.
State Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said initial CDC test results received this week are inconclusive. She said the federal disease investigators are conducting additional tests, which may take between three and four weeks to complete.
Beauchan said Hultman went hiking in Hawi, Kohala, White Road in Waimea and Waipi'o Valley during his holidays. He was a senior studying international relations at Washington College.
Beauchan is still puzzling over an initial test done in Maryland that indicated her brother may have died of dengue hemorrhagic fever. She's hoping that further tests will help solve the mystery.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
