As summer ends and fall begins, students may start to fear waking up in the morning with that foreboding scratch in the throat. With a variety of ailments that may cause a sore throat, however, many might have trouble identifying whether this symptom means a cold, virus — or even strep throat.

Strep throat is caused by a specific bacteria called Group A Streptococcus, leading to a sore throat for those afflicted. Strep is mainly passed through direct contact with infected parties or even carriers who are not sick, Student Health Physician Joe Chance said.

“Some people can be asymptomatic carriers,” Chance said. “As much as 5 percent of the population carry Group A Streptococcus in their mouth without any symptoms. But when they share eating utensils and drinks or kiss others, etc., then those people will become sick.”

Because strep passes through direct contact, the best way to avoid the ailment is by not sharing eating and drinking equipment, Chance said.

“It is contagious if you do have that close contact,” he said.

Second-year College student Lindsey Arturo can relate to the disease’s symptom of concentrated pain.

“It felt like a little angry man in my throat,” Arturo said. “The worst part was the pain.”

Strep can be serious but it rarely leads to other problems, Chance said. He also noted that a sore throat doesn’t always mean strep. “The idea that every sore throat is strep throat is just not accurate,” he said. “Viruses, such as mono, can cause very severe sore throats.”

Chance added that the main symptom of strep throat is soreness — meaning that if other symptoms such as coughing or a runny nose are present, it is more likely that a different virus is at the root of the problem.

Students who suspect they may have strep throat should go to Student Health to take a rapid strep test, Chance said. “It’s a throat swab … based on an antigen-antibody reaction,” he said. The test takes about 15 to 20 minutes with 95 percent accuracy, Chance noted.

If a student tests positive for strep throat, possible treatments may include an antibiotic, penicillin or derivatives or, if allergic, other agents, Chance said. Unfortunately, although treatment prevents contagiousness, it only reduces symptoms.

“It doesn’t make nearly the difference people expect it to make,” he said. “Ibuprofen or Tylenol will make symptoms much better. But you definitely need an antibiotic if you have strep.”

Despite many cases of sore throat diagnosed at Student Health, only a small percentage of students test positive for strep. Until a person is 15 years old, he has a 30 percent chance of his sore throat being caused by strep. In a population of college students, however, an individual has a 5 percent chance.

“Everyone is worried about [strep] because they used to have it a lot, but once you get older, your chance of getting it falls drastically,” Chance said, adding that a decreased likelihood of catching the strep bug is one of the advantages of additional years. “I think most students think they have as much a chance of getting strep as they did in grammar school. That’s just not true. I’m not saying you shouldn’t come in and get tested, but you shouldn’t be surprised when it turns out to be a negative test.”

As for many “common” diseases, there are also those community members who somehow mostly avoid strep throat. Third-year College student Alex Cutler, for example, said he had strep only once — when he was about 13 years old — and has not contracted the bacteria since.

Arturo, on the other hand, had strep once last year and about four times prior to coming to the University.

“[Being older] hasn’t worked for me yet,” she joked. “But I figured I’d get some kind of sickness in the college environment. Better strep throat than meningitis!”

No, in fact, only women have cervixes. So why would the Food and Drug Administration approve Gardasil, a vaccine to prevent acquiring the virus that causes cervical cancer, for men?

The virus that causes cervical cancer is human papillomavirus, or HPV. There are more than 100 different strains of HPV that cause a range of illnesses, from genital warts to cervical cancer. Most people infected with HPV, however, clear the infection on their own without any symptoms. The four most common strains in the United States that Gardasil is designed to prevent are 6, 11, 16 and 18. The latter two are those responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer in the United States and the former two for 92 of genital warts.

Unlike cervical cancer, genital warts are not limited to one gender. While genital warts don’t initially strike fear into our hearts with the same degree that cancer does, they are still not easily dismissed. Most people don’t shudder at the thought of genital warts because other strains of HPV also cause the warts often found on hands and feet that have no real health consequences outside of the unsightly inconvenience they provide. But genital warts are not entirely as benign as common warts. While most people are able to clear the infection on their own, strains 6 and 11 have been shown to be precursors to the development of anal and penile cancer.

There’s that scary cancer word again and linked to a body part unique to men. Admittedly, penile cancer is much rarer than cervical cancer — sorry, ladies — but warts don’t discriminate. Additionally, extending use of the vaccine to men will help shield women from acquiring the disease because it is, after all, a sexually transmitted infection. It only seems fair that both men and women should bear the responsibility for preventing cervical cancer because a man could acquire it from one partner, experience no symptoms himself and transmit the virus to his next partner unknowingly. HPV can be asymptomatic if it does not cause warts on the skin, so it is tricky for someone to know when they could be spreading the virus to their partners — which is why protection should be worn, even though condoms only cover the penis and leave skin-to-skin contact possible.

Additionally, HPV strain 16 has been linked to oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, which is a cancer of the squamous cells that line the mouth and throat. Cervical cancer is also a squamous cell carcinoma but of the squamous cells lining the cervix. Thus, it is logical that HPV strains causing a certain type of cancer in one part of the body could cause cancer in the same types of cells in other parts of the body.

It cannot remain unmentioned that the Gardasil vaccine is not without risks. Recently, Gardasil has been implicated in many serious and life-threatening reactions, including loss of consciousness, seizures, paralysis and even death. There is concern that not all poor outcomes from the vaccination are being properly attributed, which means there might even be more cases of bad outcomes from Gardasil. Additionally, Gardasil is a very new vaccine, the long-term benefits of which are unproven. It is not yet known if the vaccine truly provides life-long immunity or if the effect fades after a currently unknown period of time. It also is unknown if revaccination will be required to truly eradicate, or drastically reduce, the incidence of cancers associated with HPV infection.

But all I can say is that it’s about time that we’re getting some equality in the vaccine market!

Katie McBeth is a University Medical student. She can be reached at k.mcbeth@cavalierdaily.com.

Biology Prof. Norman Pace at the University of Colorado, Boulder recently investigated the buildup of potentially harmful microbes in shower heads across the country. He concluded that the concentration of these bacteria is 100 times the natural level found in water and soil. This means that every time you turn on the shower, you may be introducing into your bathroom huge amounts of the pathogens mycobacterium avium and mycobacterium gordonae, which are associated with lung infections. Those who are immunocompromised — such as those fighting off disease, pregnant women and the elderly — are at the highest risk of developing pulmonary disease from ingesting these pathogens. The two best ways to reduce this effect are to use a metal shower head with a filter and change it regularly or to leave the room for a short time after turning on the shower to allow the initial burst of the microbes to pass.

—compiled by Kate Singleton

A team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that people who slept less than seven hours on average were three times as likely to catch a cold than those who slept at least eight hours. The researchers studied the sleep habits of 153 healthy people for two weeks before administering to each of them nasal drops containing the rhinovirus, which causes the common cold. It was determined that the less sleep one got, the more likely he would contract a cold. The researchers also suggested that the chemicals released by the immune system in response to infection are influenced by sleep disturbance. Thus, quality of sleep appears to affect one’s immune defenses as well. Those in the study who experienced inefficient or low-quality sleep were five times more likely not to fend off the rhinovirus.

—compiled by Kate Singleton