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**Evelyn** · September 12, 2009, 03:30 AM

Re: Cornell University: Statement from President David Skorton on death of student

http://cornellsun.com/section/news/c...-complications

Cornell Student Dies From H1N1 Complications
First swine flu-related fatality in Tompkins County
September 11, 2009 - 5:45pm
By Sun Staff

Warren Schor ?11 died on Friday at Cayuga Medical Center from complications relating to H1N1 influenza, according to the University.

Schor, 20, is the first H1N1 influenza-related fatality in Tompkins County, the Health Department said.

In a message to members of the Cornell community President David Skorton wrote: ?We wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to [Schor's family] and to his many friends. Please keep them in your thoughts in the following days.?

Schor was a student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a member of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.

Skorton also urged all members of the community to be on alert about the risks related to underlying health conditions and severe flu symptoms.

It was not immediately clear whether Schor had an underlying medical condition.

Cornell Director of Press Relations Claudia Wheatley, citing confidentiality reasons, declined to comment on any additional details.

?To respect the wishes of the family, no further information about the individual will be released,? Tompkins County Public Health Director Alice Cole said in a statement .

?H1N1 has been causing mild to moderate symptoms in most people, and most recover within 4-7 days with self-care at home,? Sharon Dittman, associate director of community relations at Gannett Health Services, stated in an e-mail to The Sun earlier this week. ?However, it sometimes does cause more serious illness, so it is important to be vigilant.?

About 70 percent of people nationwide who have been hospitalized with the 2009 H1N1 virus have had an underlying medical condition that placed them at a higher risk of serious complications, according to the CDC.

At least two other college students in the United States have died from complications relating to the flu, Inside Higher Ed reported on Tuesday.

Influenza-like illness has been reported at more than 70-percent of college campuses nationwide, according to a survey by the American College Health Association, which has been tracking the spread of the disease. The highest rates of activity have been in the Northwest and Southeast regions of the country, according to the ACHA.

On Wednesday, University health officials said that approximately 450 Cornell students had been diagnosed by Gannett Health Services with probable H1N1 influenza. Cornell?s Inter-Fraternity Council has also placed a seven-day moratorium on fraternity social events in an effort to curb the spread of the flu across campus.

Ithaca College?s health center has diagnosed some 18 students there with probable H1N1 influenza, The Ithacan reported on Thursday.

**Evelyn** · September 12, 2009, 03:39 AM

Re: Cornell University: Statement from President David Skorton on death of student

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...20340/1168/RSS

Cornell student dies of H1N1
Liz Lawyer ? The Ithaca Journal ? September 12, 2009

ITHACA ? A 20-year-old Cornell University student has died of complications of the H1N1 virus, university officials said Friday.

Warren J. Schor, a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity who was living at the fraternity house on Edgecliff Place on North Campus, died Friday at Cayuga Medical Center. Schor, of Clinton Corners near Poughkeepsie, was a student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, according to Cornell's online directory.

The campus has dealt with a flood of incidences of the disease but no deaths until now.

As of Friday, the school's health service had reported dealing with more than 520 cases, many of which have been students calling in from home, said Vice President for Communications Tommy Bruce.

"One of the things I wanted to say is to reassure everyone that Cornell has been working really hard at this issue," Bruce said Friday. "We have been prepping for a pandemic for three years, and since this season has come around, we've been working around the clock."

He said privacy regulations prevented discussion of whether there were any other health issues that contributed to Schor's death.

All flu cases that are identified currently are assumed to be H1N1, since the seasonal flu is not known to be circulating this early in the season.

Zeta Beta Tau, a historically Jewish fraternity, could not be reached Friday for comment.

Cornell President David Skorton released a statement Friday evening informing the campus and media of Schor's death.

"The university has been in close contact with Warren's family, and we wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to them and to his many friends," Skorton said.

"Please keep them in your thoughts in the following days."

At Cornell, the InterFraternity Council earlier this week enacted a seven-day moratorium on all parties, hoping to stem the rate of occurrences of the illness.

The Cornell Daily Sun, the student newspaper, published a letter to the editor Friday from two Cornell administrators, Vice President for Student and Academic Services Susan Murphy and Dean of Students Kent Hubbell, applauding the move as a "reasonable response."

Tompkins County Health Department Director Alice Cole said the real problem at parties is not the gathering of people together but the drinking games that students often play, in which they share drinking and eating utensils.

"The message that we continue to promote is to promote healthy behaviors," Cole said.

Cole said that compared with the number of cases of H1N1 being contracted, the number of people dying from it are very low.

"Most people get a very mild form of the disease, it progresses and they get better," she said.

Those most at risk for complications may have another condition, such as asthma or kidney disease, she said.

Ithaca College has reported more than 25 cases identified by the Hammond Health Center, and Tompkins-Cortland Community College has also reported incidences.

One U.S. college, Washington State University's Pullman campus, had more than 2,500 phone and in-person contacts with students complaining of flu-like symptoms over a period of about 10 days at the beginning of the semester. However, no deaths have been reported there.

Those who are ill should consider getting medical attention if they have a temperature more than 100 degrees, or experience difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, sudden dizziness, pain or pressure in the chest, a change in their level of consciousness, or severe or persistent vomiting.

Government health officials said earlier Friday that influenza is unusually early this year with cases in all 50 states ? nearly all the swine flu variety.

Supplies of swine flu vaccine are expected to be available in mid-October, and testing shows it works with a single dose and takes effect rapidly.

In the United States, it's estimated 36,000 people die every year from ordinary seasonal flu.

ELAWYER@Gannett.com

Includes reporting by The Associated Press.

**hawkeye** · September 12, 2009, 11:20 AM

Re: Cornell University: Statement from President David Skorton on death of student

Cornell Student Dies of Swine Flu

Updated: Saturday, 12 Sep 2009, 11:07 AM CDT
Published : Saturday, 12 Sep 2009, 10:57 AM CDT

* ARUN KRISTIAN DAS

MYFOXNY.COM - A student from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., has died of complications from the H1N1 virus, according to a statement on its Web site.

Warren J. Schor, 20, died Friday at Cayuga Medical Center.

"The university has been in close contact with Warren's family, and we wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to them and to his many friends," said Cornell President David Skorton, in a message to the university community. "Please keep them in your thoughts in the following days."

Skortin's statement urges students and others to take precautions to minimize the risk of infection and spread of the flu.

More than 500 students have come down with flu-like symptoms in recent week, university health officials said. The university, which enrolls about 20,000 students, has establishing a flu information Web page and hotline.

**Pathfinder** · September 12, 2009, 02:56 PM

Re: Cornell University: Statement from President David Skorton on death of student

CENTRAL NY REAL-TIME NEWS
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Cornell student who died from H1N1 was from Dutchess County
by Liam Migdail-Smith / The Post-Standard

Saturday September 12, 2009, 3:32 PM

Ithaca -- The Cornell University student who died Friday from complications related to H1N1 -- more widely-known as swine flu -- was a junior from Clinton Corners in Dutchess County, the university confirmed Saturday.

Warren J. Schor, 20, died in the Cayuga Medical Center. He was majoring in applied economics and management in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He belonged to the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and lived off campus at the fraternity house on Edgecliff Place.

Since classes began two weeks ago, Cornell has had some 520 diagnosed cases of influenza-type illness on campus, said the university's director of press relations, Claudia Wheatley. The diagnosis's were made by students visiting the health center or calling in with their symptoms, she said. Because H1N1 is the main flu-type illness going around at this time, it's a good bet that many of those cases are H1N1, she said.

Wheatley said that the number of calls and visits to the health center have been high but that there hasn't been any noticeable increase since the news of Schor's death.

? Read the original story.

Thursday, health officials announced that a pregnant woman in Onondaga County died from the H1N1 flu. Hers is the fourth H1N1 death in the county.

syracuse.com

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/cornell_student_who_died_from.html

**Pathfinder** · September 15, 2009, 11:36 AM

Re: Cornell University: Statement from President David Skorton on death of student

Colleges on alert after Cornell student dies

By Candice Ferrette
September 15, 2009

The H1N1 flu death of a Cornell University student has prompted local college officials to take extra precautions to protect students from the highly contagious virus.

Because H1N1, or swine flu, targets young people, campus health officials say they are trying to prevent the virus from rapidly spreading in dorms where students live close together and often share personal items.

"Why is this happening at some schools and not others? I feel very fortunate that it has not happened here yet, but I'm not naive enough to think that it won't," said Karen Lolli, co-director of University Health Care at Pace University, which has campuses in Pleasantville and White Plains.

Warren Schor, 20, of Clinton Corners, in Dutchess County, died Friday and was one of more than 520 students at Cornell with flu-like symptoms. It is unclear whether Schor had any underlying medical conditions.

Schor was buried yesterday in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Hawthorne. A funeral was held at Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains.

Schor was a 2007 graduate of The Hackley School in Tarrytown. He was beginning his third year of college at Cornell, where he was majoring in business, according to a Web site in his memory.

Locally, a few students have had mild, flu-like symptoms, although there's no way of knowing how many have had swine flu because testing is limited.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends college officials advise students with such flu-like symptoms as fever and cough to go home to their parents or guardians. Nonresidential students are asked to stay home for 24 hours or after their fever is gone.

In some cases, when students can't go home, a self-isolation policy may apply and students may be asked to stay in dorm rooms - leaving to go to the bathroom or to the campus health center.

At Purchase College, a committee that planned the campus flu response initiated a "flu buddy system," said Dr. Nancy Reuben, the medical director of student health services.

"Volunteer buddies will check in on them and get food for them," Reuben said.

The college has specially reached out to students with underlying medical conditions.

All states are reporting H1N1 flu activity at different levels with about 9,000 people hospitalized and nearly 600 deaths, according to the CDC report from the beginning of September.

Health officials say they believe most people who get the flu will recover fully without medication. Students will underlying health conditions such as asthma, muscular problems, diabetes and heart conditions, are most at risk.

College officials are assuming that the swine flu will be as mild as it was in the spring, though say they are prepared for it to mutate into a more virulent strain.

At St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, the student health center has stocked up on extra supplies of face masks. The college has also installed hand-sanitizing machines at locations on campus, said Kirk Manning, vice president and dean for student development.

As of now, however, colleges such as Sarah Lawrence aren't restricting campus activities or social gatherings.

"We may certainly not sponsor large events if it comes to that. But there's very little way of controlling what they (students) do," said Nancy Roy, director of the health center.

Lolli said she hopes they get the seasonal flu shot and the swine flu vaccine.

The flu virus hasn't targeted the 18-25 age group since 1918, so getting vaccinated isn't often on the priority list for young people.

"It's an age when you think you're invincible. Flu was always something that would impact grandma or grandpa. This time around, though, it's really about the younger population," Lolli said.

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Cornell University: Statement from President David Skorton on death of student

Cornell University: Statement from President David Skorton on death of student

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