PLAYING CATCH WITH BRAD

Brad Pitt checked into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center the other night complaining of flu-like symptoms. He is now reportedly at home recovering from viral meningitis, a relatively common, but serious infection of the fluid in the spinal cord and around the brain.

[NOTE: This is not to be confused with viral "womeningitis," which is the rapid spread of information about an amazing shoe sale.]

Viral meningitis can be transmitted by mosquitoes and there is no known treatment for it. Fortunately, the illness is typically mild and symptoms usually clear up in a week. According to his publicist, Brad is doing well. As for how he came down with the illness, Mr. Pitt was in Ethiopia last week with his “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” co-star Angelina Jolie to pick up her newly adopted baby girl. Many are speculating he contracted the sickness during his short stay in the underdeveloped African nation, as it is widely believed Jolie is a carrier of pretty much everything. In all fairness, I should note that a mosquito bite has not been entirely ruled out.

Seriously, though – when you consider all of the shit that’s floating around over there, from Ebola to Malaria to Marburg fever, Brad was fortunate to come away with just a mild case of meningitis. Especially when Jolie ended up contracting a small child. I hear a child outbreak can last 18 years…or more! The condition, which is not terminal, causes headaches, sleeplessness, fatigue, and anxiety. But afflicted friends tell me that these symptoms are made bearable by routine fits of raging euphoria that make a child outbreak one of the best diseases one could ever hope to catch.