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Did West Seattle
woman die of food poisoning in Thailand? Source of
Article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/theblotter/2009267699_did_west_seattle_woman_die_of.html Posted by Nick
Provenza The death of
a 27-year-old Seattle woman in Thailand earlier this month may have been food
poisoning, according to the Phuket Gazette Web site in Thailand. Preliminary
lab tests show that Jill St. Onge of West Seattle and Julie Bergheim, 22, of
Norway, had signs of microbial infection in blood samples taken from the two
women, Krabi Provincial Police Commander Maj. Gen Pasin Noksakul told the
Gazette. Gen Pasin
said that the results from the Forensics Institute were preliminary and not
yet official, but it's possible the two women ate contaminated seafood. The two
women, who stayed in adjacent rooms at the Laleena guesthouse on Phi Phi Don
Island at the beginning of May, died within hours of each other at Phi Phi
Island Hospital after severe vomiting. In blood
samples taken from Bergheim, researchers found three different kinds of
potentially harmful microbes, while blood samples from Onge had one, Gen
Pasin said. Although it
is not normal procedure to release results until they are official, Gen Pasin
said he wanted to quell widespread speculation over the cause of the deaths
on Internet blog and chat forums. Such
theories have included exposure to toxic gas from a nearby wastewater
treatment plant, problems with the air conditioning in the guest rooms,
accidental overdoses of the 4 X 100 drug cocktail that has been gaining
popularity in the south over the past year and even murder by poisoning. The
Forensics Institute is continuing to study the microbes to positively
identify them and test their virility, according to the Gazette. "I
don't know when the official results will be released, but the commander of
the Royal Thai Police has ordered the lab work expedited because the
embassies of the two deceased tourists want to know the cause of the death as
soon as possible," he told the Gazette. Gen Pasin
ruled out the possibility that [methane] gas emanating from the nearby
wastewater treatment plant might have been the cause, saying the plant had
been in the area for a long time with no ill effects on local people or
tourists. As you can
imagine, Onge's family wants answers. Family members spread the word about
Jill's death via Facebook, where she had hundreds of friends. When Onge
and her fiancé, Ryan Kells, took off three months ago for a tour of
Southeast Asia, her family was worried. But the couple wanted an adventure.
Jill taught art through Seattle Parks and Recreation, and was trying to start
her own silk-screening business. She also tended bar at Shadowland in West
Seattle. Kells is a glassblower. With only
days before they were to head home, they decided to "splurge" on a
room with air conditioning on the island of Koh Phi Phi. That evening, Jill
started feeling sick, and they chalked it up to food poisoning. Within a few
hours, it was clear she needed to be hospitalized. |
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