Possible case of mumps on Fairbanks campus
December 15, 2017
Mumps is a contagious viral illness. The most common symptoms are:
- fever
- headache
- muscle aches
- tiredness
- loss of appetite
- swollen and tender salivary glands under the ears on one or both sides (parotitis)
Symptoms typically appear 16-18 days after infection, but this period can range from 12-25 days after infection. This is called the incubation period.
Some people who get mumps have very mild or no symptoms, and often they do not know they have the disease.
Persons are infectious from two days before the onset of parotitis until five days after swelling starts. People who have the mumps should stay at home until they are no longer infectious to others. Mumps is spread by respiratory droplets, particularly when in close contact (within 3 feet of an infected person for 15 minutes or longer).
If you are concerned that you or a family member may have the mumps, please call your medical provider first for advice. Do not show up at a medical facility without notice to avoid possibly infecting other people.
Treatment includes bed rest, fluids and fever reducers.
Most people with mumps recover completely in a few weeks; however, complications such as meningitis, encephalitis, permanent hearing loss and other serious complications can also occur.
An effective vaccine is available for mumps, and has led to mumps being considered uncommon in the United States, with an average of fewer than 500 cases reported annually. In spite of this, cases and outbreaks of mumps continue to occur in the United States. In the past five years, Alaska received an average of less than one case reported per year. Starting in August 2017, there has been an increase in mumps activity in Anchorage. Not all cases are able to be linked epidemiologically, suggesting that transmission in the community is occurring. In some of those populations it has been suggested that individuals obtain an additional mumps vaccine, however there is no similar recommendation for Fairbanks at this time.
All individuals should check their immunization status and ensure that they have been adequately immunized via two MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccines. Most people raised in the U.S. had these vaccines as children. Employees who haven't had two vaccines can get the vaccine at local clinics or pharmacies. Students can get it at the Student Health and Counseling Center for $95.
If you have questions or concerns about your health, you should consult your health care provider. Students can contact the Student Health and Counseling Center at 474-7043 or uaf-sh-cc@alaska.edu, or visit www.uaf.edu/chc/.
Please see the following websites for further information about mumps:
State of Alaska Division of Public Health: http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/Epi/id/Pages/Mumps.aspx
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/mumps/index.html