Mumps Outbreak

The recent mumps outbreak in Iowa is the largest outbreak in the past 20 years. While no one has died, there are estimated to be over 1,000 cases with no end in sight. I think that warrants a post on the disease and some information about it.

So what are the mumps? They used to be a childhood rite of passage, but with current vaccines, children just don’t get them anymore so we forget what they are. Mumps are a viral infection and are spread through contact with an infected person’s saliva. Symptoms of mumps include swelling of the saliva glands, fever, headache, and sore throat.

The bad news is that there is no treatment for mumps. The best you can do is take pain killers and wait it out. So with mumps, prevention is the key. The best prevention is of course a vaccination. MMRs are given to children at 12-15 months old and again at 4-6 years old. This immunization is around 80% effective.

All in all, mumps are not anything urgent and there is no need for people to rush to be immunized. The officials in the affected areas are encouraging people not to worry and are saying that there is no need to cancel public events such as proms or graduations. So I guess we just get to sit back and hope and don’t get it! Have any of you ever had mumps or known someone who has?

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 20th, 2006 at 1:05 pmand is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.