Sore Throat

A Baltimore teen-ager is Maryland's first laboratory-confirmed case of Type A influenza for the 2003-2004 flu season, the state health department announced yesterday. "Although the flu is here in Maryland, it is not too late to get a vaccination," said state health Secretary Nelson J. Sabatini. "We encourage anyone who has not had their shot, especially those in high-risk categories, to contact their physician or health care provider." Flu symptoms include fever, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle aches and extreme fatigue.

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.

A freshman at Towson University has contracted meningitis and school officials have sent letters to all 15,000 students warning them that they might need to be evaluated by a physician.The student's condition was diagnosed as meningococcal meningitis yesterday after she had been hospitalized Tuesday, suffering from headaches, stiffness and a sore throat, said Dr. Jane Halpern, health services director at Towson University.School officials declined to identify the student or describe her condition, but said that she is a member of the Kappa Delta sorority who lives on the third floor of Scarborough Hall dormitory.

The Howard County sentencing of Antonio Donnell Oesby, a Washington man convicted of rapes in three jurisdictions - including one that resulted in death - was postponed yesterday after Oesby told his lawyer he was too weak to stand or talk. Oesby is facing a potential life sentence in Howard County for a first-degree rape conviction stemming from the Oct. 1, 1999, attack on a young Columbia woman who was sexually assaulted while her son slept in the back of her sport utility vehicle. A Howard County jury convicted Oesby last month on seven charges, including rape, carjacking, sexual assault and kidnapping.

The first laboratory-confirmed case of seasonal flu was reported Friday by state health officials, who are using the milestone to remind residents to get vaccinated for the virus. The case involves an adult in the Baltimore region, and comes two months later than the first case reported last season. The flu is spread from person to person through coughing or sneezing or contact with an infected person. Symptoms usually begin a few days later and include fever, body aches, fatigue, coughing and sore throat.

My daughter recently came home from school sick and running a fever. I took her to the doctor, who diagnosed her with the flu and wrote a prescription for Tamiflu. Because I had gotten a flu shot in October, I didn't think I would have a problem, but on Friday afternoon I was stricken with a high fever, sore throat and chills. My daughter, who is 10 and usually healthy, recovered by Saturday afternoon. I remained in bed for the entire weekend and then started taking Tamiflu. I was impressed with how well this medicine worked.

Q. I am curious about an herbal supplement called Kan Jang (Andrographis paniculata). I have read that it can treat cold symptoms, but I would like your opinion. What do you think of using it for prevention during the cold and flu season? A. Andrographis paniculata is a Chinese herb (chuan xin lian) popular in Scandinavia under the brand name Kan Jang. It is used for preventing as well as treating colds and other upper respiratory infections. Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have shown that it lowers fever and relieves symptoms such as sore throat, nasal congestion and tiredness as well as headache.

A Baltimore area child who died in December has tested positive for influenza, state health officials announced Friday, declaring it the first pediatric flu death in Maryland this winter. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene declined to release any other details about the case, beyond saying that influenza was confirmed through laboratory tests, and that the child had an underlying health condition. This is the first influenza-associated death of a Maryland child since the 2009-2010 flu season, according to the department, when two youths died.

A Johns Hopkins University student who died Wednesday morning likely fell ill because of a bacterial infection - not an allergic reaction he thought he was experiencing, university officials said yesterday. A preliminary blood test suggested that 19-year-old Gilbert Duvalsaint's death was the result of a meningococcal infection, which can lead to bacterial meningitis, said university spokesman Dennis O'Shea. Duvalsaint had been vaccinated against meningitis, a state requirement for students living in university housing.

Q: I was shocked and frightened by the sudden death of Jim Henson, the Muppets creator, from pneumonia. With all the progress that has been made in the treatment of infections, how could this happen to a healthy young man?Henson's pneumonia was produced by an exceptionally virulent strain of group A streptococcus, a bacteria best known for causing strep throat. This particular aggressive strain of streptococcus has now been recognized as the cause of a new type of severe illness called toxic shock-like syndrome (TSLS)