LJWorld.com

Wayne Simien, who has missed the Miami Heat's last 10 games, isn't injured or in coach Pat Riley's doghouse.

He has been saddled with what doctors believe is a recurrence of the Salmonella bacteria that prevented him from playing in last year's NBA Finals.

"Wayne's doing fine," Simien's mom, Margaret, reported Wednesday from the former Kansas University power forward's childhood home in Leavenworth. "It's just that Salmonella he had last year in July kind of easing its way back again. He was on medication last summer for a month and a half and it all cleared up.

"Some of the same symptoms started coming back, so now he's having tests run. He's on medication. Hopefully this time it will get it taken care of. They are thinking he may not have been on medication long enough the last time."

Doctors are being cautious with Simien because they don't want a repeat of last summer's symptoms, which caused Simien to lose 30 pounds and almost miss his own wedding.

"He was thin on his wedding day," Margaret Simien said. "He came home last summer and got so sick we rushed him to the hospital. Nobody wants him hospitalized again, so they are putting a Band-Aid on it right away this time. I'm proud of them for catching it early."

The Salmonella bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can live in the intestinal tracks of humans and animals, including birds. Salmonella are transmitted to humans by eating contaminated foods - most commonly beef, poultry, milk or eggs. Many raw foods of animal origin are frequently contaminated, but thorough cooking kills the bacteria.

Food also may become infected by the unwashed hands of an infected food handler.

The CDC reports that a small number of persons infected with Salmonella go on to develop pains in their joints, irritation of the eyes and painful urination. This is called Reiter's syndrome. It can last for months or years and can lead to chronic arthritis.

"They said it could come from something I ate or it could have been a virus that was in the stomach already," Wayne Simien told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

His mom further explained: "We don't know the cause. They do a lot of traveling and eat everywhere, so Wayne could have picked it up anywhere. It (this particular recurrence) has been a couple of weeks now. By him still having discomfort, you don't want to step on the court and play. He needs to get it taken care of so he doesn't get sick, lose all that weight again."

¢ More on ex-Jayhawks: Entering Wednesday's action, ex-Jayhawk Raef LaFrentz had played just four games and had gone scoreless for the Portland Trail Blazers. LaFrentz missed the first three weeks of training camp with a torn left calf muscle, then re-injured the calf during the season's first game. : Scot Pollard and Jacque Vaughn have not been used much by their new teams. Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Pollard, who Saturday showed for a game with his head shaved into a Mohawk, has not scored a point in four games. : Point guard Vaughn of the San Antonio Spurs has 10 points and 14 assists total in 11 games.

¢ KU recruiting: Romero Osby, a 6-foot-7 junior small forward from NE Lauderdale High School in Meridan, Miss., tells Rivals.com he may attend the KU-Boston College game on Dec. 23 at Allen Fieldhouse. Osby, the No. 31-rated player in the Class of 2008, is considering KU, Alabama, Florida, Texas and others. : Xavier Henry, a 6-6 sophomore from Putnam City (Okla.) High, says he plans to attend "a couple" of games at both KU and Texas this season. He's also considering Memphis and others.