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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania – University of Penn State (UHS) Health Services, a student affairs unit, reports the confirmation of two mumps cases on the University Park campus.
Affected students were isolated in accordance with the protocols and recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. UHS staff now identify those who have been in close contact with the two confirmed cases, which are apparently unrelated. . The Pennsylvania Department of Health is monitoring the situation.
Mumps is a highly infectious disease transmitted by saliva and respiratory secretions. Symptoms often include swollen glands below the ear or along the jaw on one or both sides of the face and neck, headache, fever, and cold-like symptoms. People with mumps are considered infectious two days before the start of swelling and up to five days after the start of swelling. For most people, two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine provide adequate immunity to infection.
Students likely to experience mumps symptoms should make an appointment with UHS by visiting myUHS or calling the nurse counselor at 814-863-4463; Faculty and staff members should contact their primary care provider if they have symptoms.
Answers to frequently asked questions about mumps are available below.
What is mumps? What are the symptoms?
Mumps is a serious contagious disease transmitted by saliva and respiratory secretions. Mumps symptoms often include swollen glands below the ear or along the jaw on one or both sides of the face and neck, headache, fever, and cold-like symptoms. . Mumps complications, although rare, may include inflammation of the testes, ovaries, breasts and / or the brain. The mumps incubation period is usually 16 to 18 days but can range from 12 to 25 days.
How can I protect myself against mumps?
Mumps passes through saliva and respiratory secretions. Students are urged not to share food or drinks and not to participate in activities where drinks are shared or where the virus can be transmitted through saliva exposure. In addition, frequent hand washing and proper breathing rules are also encouraged to help prevent the spread of the disease.
What if I had never been vaccinated against mumps?
Individuals who are not immunized against mumps, whether through the two-dose MMR vaccine or prior mumps infection, should make an appointment immediately to receive the vaccine at University Health Services or their provider. primary health care. If you can not show evidence of immunity against mumps, you can be excluded from campus for up to 26 days. The Penn State requires all undergraduate and graduate students to be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella.
If I have been vaccinated, am I protected?
Most of the recent national mumps cases involve students who received the two doses of MMR vaccine recommended by the CDC. While two doses of MMR vaccine usually confer adequate immunity to infection, vaccination does not guarantee protection. According to the CDC, the MMR vaccine's anti-mumps component is approximately 88% effective when a person receives two doses.
In January 2018, the CDC issued recommendations for the use of a third dose of MMR vaccine for those identified as having an increased risk of contracting mumps when an increase in the number of cases, such as those found in extended close contact environments such as colleges and universities campuses. In addition, at the age of university, immunity induced by the vaccine of previous vaccines began to weaken, making this population more vulnerable.
What should I do if I contract mumps? what is the treatement?
Although there is no mumps treatment, University Health Services advises anyone with mumps symptoms to rest, drink plenty of fluids, and take over-the-counter pain medications to reduce the risk of mumps. symptoms. Students are also encouraged to stay at home, to isolate others for five days after the onset of symptoms, and to avoid activities where food or drink is shared or where the virus can be transmitted by the child. Exposure to saliva.
What is Penn State doing to stop the spread of mumps?
Students who developed mumps symptoms were isolated according to the protocols and recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Disease Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. One of the confirmed students left University Park after the diagnosis and is no longer contagious. The second was placed in isolation until it was no longer contagious. University health services staff now identify students who have been in close contact with confirmed or probable cases of mumps and recommend a third dose of MMR vaccine. Those who can not provide proof of vaccination will be excluded from campus, in order to prevent the disease from spreading.
For more information, please consult the following resources:
– Pennsylvania Department of Health, Mumps Information Sheet
– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mumps: questions and answers
– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mumps Information
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