Outbreak of mumps deemed unlikely

IU Health Center officials said Monday they do not believe an outbreak of mumps is likely on the Bloomington campus.\nOne IU-Bloomington student was diagnosed with the virus April 21, but officials said the student's case had progressed far enough that it was no longer contagious.\n"The likelihood of additional cases (of mumps at IU) is very slim," said IU Health Center Director Hugh Jessop. "This is taking into consideration that the individual infected would be able to transmit the disease the week before they developed symptoms and two weeks after symptoms appeared. The incubation period for those exposed is up to 18 days after exposure. That window of time will have passed, and no additional cases that we are aware of have been reported in Bloomington."\nJessop and other officials have cautioned that an absence of mumps in Bloomington does not mean that residents are safe from the disease.\n"If people are traveling to places where mumps is occurring -- Illinois and Iowa -- they really need to know their personal risk status," Jessop said.\nIU Dean of Students Dick McKaig said the University does not currently have any plans to treat dorm rooms or provide a mumps education program to the public. McKaig said the IU Health Center is posting advisories on its Web site.\n"At this point in time, the message is if you were born prior to 1957 you are considered immune, or if you had your two (measles, mumps and rubella) shots, you are reasonably secure," McKaig said. "It's not much of an issue here because most people have had those shots."\nAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mumps is usually spread through saliva, and victims are contagious from three days before symptoms appear to as many as nine days after symptoms appear.\nSymptoms of the disease include swollen, painful glands on the side of the face, pain while chewing, weakness and puffy cheeks. In severe cases, inflammation of the brain or tissue covering the brain and spinal cord, inflammation of the testicles, inflammation of the ovaries and breasts, spontaneous abortion and temporary or permanent deafness can occur.\nA two-shot measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, known as an MMR vaccine, was introduced in the 1980s but only prevents the diseases in 90 percent of people. IU students are required to show proof of vaccination before starting classes.\nJessop said even with mumps spreading throughout the Midwest, it is unlikely that there will be any outbreaks at IU.\n"Although there have been some cases where people have had two MMRs and still became ill, that number from a percentage of total cases is low," Jessop said. "That information, combined with the fact that all IU students should be in compliance with the two-shot MMR state requirement when entering IU, lessens the likelihood of additional cases"