Pneumonia

Dr. Robert Austrian, an internationally known expert in the prevention of pneumococcal diseases whose research led to the development of the pneumonia vaccine that has saved countless lives worldwide, died Sunday of a stroke at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The former Baltimorean was 90. "Bob was a pioneer in understanding pneumococcal diseases. He was very studious, competent and a model of the academic research physician," said Dr. Richard S. Ross, a longtime friend, and dean emeritus of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Five weeks after fending off concerns about harmful bacterial skin infections at four high schools, Anne Arundel County school officials were combating another public health scare this week: pneumonia. The Anne Arundel County Department of Health has confirmed at least six cases of mycoplasma pneumonia at a Severna Park elementary school. Symptoms The bacterial respiratory illness, characterized by headache, coughing, sore throat and fever, is spread through hand-to-hand and hand-to-nose contact with an infected person.

Ann Corio, the queen of burlesque who kept the tradition alive into the age of X-rated movies, died March 1 in Englewood, N.J. She was believed to be in her 80s. One of the last to practice the art of striptease as a put-on, Ms. Corio said her shows emphasized comedy and didn't contain full nudity.Stefan Hatos, 78, a longtime radio and television writer and producer and co-creator of the game show "Let's Make a Deal," died March 2 in Los Angeles.J. Leland "Lee" Atwood, 94, a key figure in the aerospace industry for more than 50 years while president and chief executive officer of Rockwell International Corp.

Rose Kryzak, 99, who lobbied for senior citizens' rights for 27 years, died Thursday in New York. She was chosen New York State Senior Citizen of the Year in 1986 by the state Legislature and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls in 1997.George E. Turner, 73, a special effects illustrator, author and former editor of American Cinematographer magazine, died Sunday in Pasadena, Calif. Mr. Turner began as a cartoonist and illustrator. He created special effects for the television series "Zorro" and films including "The Shape of Things to Come," "One From the Heart" and "Creature."

In Baltimore CountyBank to open branch in a neglected block of Eastern BoulevardESSEX -- As part of the revitalization of the Essex business district, Baltimore County Savings Bank officials plan to open a branch office in the once nearly vacant 500 block of Eastern Blvd.The branch will feature a 24-hour automated teller machine and a two-lane drive-through facility, said David M. Meadows, the bank general counsel. The office will open in the fall.The long-neglected block was purchased by local investors in June for about $1 million.

Norman Bluhm, 77, an abstract expressionist painter, died Wednesday of heart failure in East Wallingford, Vt. His large-scale works that have exhibited since the 1970s were often symmetrical compositions that packed swelling forms.Boris Manco, 56, a folk and pop singer who had great cultural influence in Turkey and became one of the country's most beloved figures, died Feb. 1 of a heart attack in Istanbul.John J. Barone, 86, a lawyer, entrepreneur and former chairman of the Ohio State University board of trustees, died Thursday in Toledo, Ohio.

Tetsuya Fujita,78, the meteorologist who devised the scale used to measure the fury of tornadoes and discovered the microburst phenomenon in thunderstorms, died Thursday at his Chicago home.Mr. Fujita traveled in the United States examining the aftermath of tornadoes, devising a six-point scale to measure their strength. An F-0 tornado has winds of 40 to 72 mph, while an F-5, the most powerful, has winds of 261 to 319 mph.In 1976, he discovered microbursts -- blasts of air that descend rapidly and spread in all directions when they reach the ground.

Dr. Thomas Frist Sr., 87, who co-founded the company that evolved into Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., died Sunday at home in Nashville, Tenn., after suffering from pneumonia.He was a cardiologist and internist who practiced medicine for 50 years and fathered three sons who also became doctors.Pub Date: 1/06/98

Jonas A. Barish,76, an authority on Shakespeare and poet Ben Jonson, died of pneumonia April 1 in Oakland, Calif.Colin "Cozy" Powell,50, a veteran rock drummer who played with heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Rainbow and White-snake, died Sunday night when his car crashed into guardrails on a highway in southwest England.Retired Army Gen. Herbert Butler Powell,94, an adviser to President John F. Kennedy during a 43-year military career and later ambassador to New Zealand under two presidents, died April 3 in Williamsburg, Va.Pub Date: 4/09/98

Delbert Ward, 67, a dairy farmer who became a cause celebre and the topic of an award-winning film when he was charged with smothering an ailing brother to spare him from suffering, died Thursday in Munnsville, N.Y. A cause of death was not disclosed.Mr. Ward, who maintained that his brother had died naturally, was acquitted.Richard N. "Dick" Young, 69, who as a reporter and member of the Kennedy Space Center news staff spent 32 years helping the world keep up with events in space exploration, died of emphysema Aug. 2 in Edgewater, Fla.Rabbi Leibish Lefkowitz, 78, an important figure in the organization of Kiryas Joel, the politically powerful Satmar Hasidic community in Orange County, N.Y., that has repeatedly gone to court over the issue of public financing for its religiously based schools, died Aug. 1 of pneumonia at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan.

Like many 42-year-old fathers of two, Orin Levine was periodically distracted during our Sunday phone conversation by his playful daughters, Abby and Jessie. It's difficult to talk uninterrupted when your 6-year-old and 4-year-old are giggling and scurrying about, petitioning for your attentions. Orin Levine is happy to be distracted, however. He knows better - indeed, firsthand - what the devastating alternatives look like for certain parents in less fortunate corners of the globe. Dr. Levine is an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a leading expert on pneumococcal disease - which, like some mysterious and frightening force in a Will Smith movie, is the relatively overlooked killer of up to 1 million children annually worldwide.

"Tired, beleaguered and battered" is how Dr. David del Rosario described himself yesterday as he hustled to care for the rising tide of patients streaming into his Patient First clinic in Glen Burnie with symptoms of the flu. "We started seeing the trickle in mid-January," he said, "and literally by the first week of February, that's when the tsunami hit." Since then, del Rosario's life has been a blur of 10-hour days in a succession of Patient First sites in suburban Maryland and a parade of patient misery.

Christine Maggiore Skeptic of AIDS research Christine Maggiore, an activist who vehemently denied that HIV causes AIDS, declined to take anti-AIDS drugs and sued Los Angeles County for stating that her 3-year-old daughter succumbed to AIDS-related pneumonia, has died. She was 52. Ms. Maggiore died at her Van Nuys home on Saturday. She had been treated for pneumonia in the past six months, but her official cause of death was pending, county coroner assistant chief Ed Winter said Tuesday.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University are urging doctors to use caution when prescribing steroid inhalers to treat a common - and sometimes fatal - lung disease after a study found they increased the risk of pneumonia in some patients by 34 percent. About half of all patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, use steroid inhalers to ease the wheezing and breathlessness caused by the condition. Although medical experts have known for years that inhalers are effective in treating symptoms, doctors have raised questions about side effects and whether they help people live longer, said Dr. M. Bradley Drummond, a pulmonologist at the Hopkins School of Medicine and the study's lead author.

Andrea Wilson felt sick to her stomach when she heard comedian Bernie Mac had died Saturday in a Chicago hospital. Her private fear - the fear of sudden death - was suddenly splashed across the news. Like Mac, Wilson has sarcoidosis, a mysterious and sometimes devastating immune system disorder that causes cells to cluster and can damage organs throughout the body. Last year, the disease jumped to her brain and started causing strokelike symptoms - vision changes, numbness in her left side, tingling in her face and mouth - as well as extreme pain.

GREY FERRIS, 62 Mississippi lawmaker Grey Ferris, a two-term Mississippi state senator who devoted his energy to improving the state's public schools and strengthening race relations, died of cancer Friday, said his wife, Jann Ferris. Mr. Ferris, a Democrat, served in the Mississippi Senate from 1992 to 2000. He ran for lieutenant governor in 1999, losing in the Democratic primary. As chairman of the state Senate Education Committee, he worked to reform education in rural and underfunded areas of the state.

NEIL ASPINALL, 66 Longtime friend of the Beatles Neil Aspinall, a longtime friend of the Beatles who managed their business enterprises and helped keep the group a moneymaking phenomenon decades after they split up, died Sunday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where he had been receiving treatment for lung cancer, according to Geoff Baker, who formerly represented Mr. Aspinall. Mr. Aspinall was a childhood friend of Beatles Paul McCartney and George Harrison in Liverpool, England.

Carl N. Karcher, 90 Founder of fast-food chain Carl N. Karcher, who parlayed a $325 investment in a hot-dog cart into one of the biggest hamburger chains in the western U.S., died last week. He suffered from Parkinson's disease and was being treated for pneumonia. Mr. Karcher founded Carl's Jr., which has more than 1,000 locations.

Anne Arundel County Health Department officials confirmed yesterday 14 more pneumonia cases at two elementary schools, just days after finding an initial batch of six cases at a third elementary school. Health officials said they have X-ray confirmations of 11 pneumonia cases at Arnold Elementary and three at Cape St. Claire Elementary, in addition to the previous six at Oak Hill Elementary in Severna Park. "The health officer was just telling us it's the season for these kinds of infections to start happening, and it spreads quickly when you have 200 students in close quarters with each other," said schools spokesman Bob Mosier.

Five weeks after fending off concerns about harmful bacterial skin infections at four high schools, Anne Arundel County school officials were combating another public health scare this week: pneumonia. The Anne Arundel County Department of Health has confirmed at least six cases of mycoplasma pneumonia at a Severna Park elementary school. Symptoms The bacterial respiratory illness, characterized by headache, coughing, sore throat and fever, is spread through hand-to-hand and hand-to-nose contact with an infected person.