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Health officials are investigating the case of a Virginia Tech graduate student who died suddenly Thursday from pneumonia and respiratory distress.

Jeffrey Kaminski, a 32-year-old master's student in Tech's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, died early Thursday at Montgomery Regional Hospital after a brief illness. Dr. Jody Hershey, director of the New River Health District, classified Kaminski's sudden death as a "rare event" but said there is no evidence of a wider health threat.

Hershey said it may be weeks before the results of an autopsy and cultures come back from the lab.

"This is a rare event, but certainly we see these from time to time," Hershey said. "We are not aware of any other cases of this type of pneumonia that presents in this way or of an outbreak of acute respiratory distress in the New River Valley."

Kaminski's death shocked and saddened his colleagues in Tech's College of Natural Resources.

Kaminski joined the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences in the fall of 2002. Prior to coming to Tech, he graduated with honors from the University of Southern Mississippi and worked for the Nature Conservancy at Camp Shelby, Miss.

In addition to working as a teaching assistant for undergraduates, Kaminski was nearing completion of an in-depth research project on how commercial logging affects communities of small mammals.

His faculty adviser on the project, assistant professor Marcella Kelly, said Kaminski's project was unique because of its comprehensiveness. Kaminski was examining the impacts of several different types of logging in West Virginia forests.

"Jeff was a really good guy," Kelly said. "He loved field work. That was what he really excelled at. And he loved the animals."

Donald Orth, head of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, praised Kaminski's work ethic, commitment to wildlife and teaching abilities. Orth, who taught a class with the grad student, said Kaminski's research on mammals had the potential to make a major impact on forest management. He described the sudden death as a tragedy for both Kaminski's family and the natural resources community as a whole.

There were rumors circulating on Tech's campus Friday that Kaminski may have been infected with a hantavirus, a type of virus sometimes found in mouse and rat feces or urine. Although infections are extremely rare, victims often die from the resulting disease, known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. HPS is not contagious from person to person.

Orth said the department is filing a report tracing Kaminski's recent activities. Kaminski spent most of his time in the field this summer, Orth said.

Hershey acknowledged that hantavirus can cause pneumonia and acute respiratory distress but cautioned against speculating before the test results are available. Hershey said humans can contract severe pneumonia from viruses, bacteria, chemical exposure and other sources.

Either a state lab in Richmond or the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will conduct tests on the cultures and samples. Because of the cultures' lengthy growing time, the exact cause of Kaminski's illness may not be known for weeks or months. Occasionally, the cause is indeterminable, Hershey said.

A memorial service for Kaminski will be held today at 4 p.m. at Virginia Tech's University Club. The College of Natural Resources has also established the Jeffrey A. Kaminski Memorial Fund to receive donations.