Health and Fitness : Mumps alert from the University of Iowa

Since July more than 100 cases of mumps have occurred at the University of Iowa and the numbers have been increasing in recent weeks. Cases are primarily occurring in undergraduate students. As a result the Iowa Department of Public Health, the University of Iowa, and Johnson County Public Health, are recommending that University of Iowa students who are less than 25 years of age should be given a third (or "booster") dose of mumps vaccine (MMR vaccine).

Multiple large vaccination clinics will be held on the UI Iowa Campus over the next two weeks, and third doses of MMR vaccine will be given, free of charge, to all University of Iowa students meeting the vaccination criteria.

University of Iowa students may be traveling soon because of holidays, so any UI students, who meet the above criteria, and who present at non-UI clinics for third dose MMR should be vaccinated at that time.

Mumps is caused by a virus and is a vaccine-preventable disease; however, past outbreaks among young adults have shown immunity from vaccination can decrease after 15 to 20 years. Symptoms of mumps typically include swelling of the salivary glands next to the jaw, fever, headache, muscle aches, and respiratory symptoms. About one-third of mumps infections do not cause obvious swelling of glands. Symptoms may appear 12-25 days after exposure, but usually 16 - 18 days. Patients with mumps should be isolated at home until five days after the onset of symptoms –or until symptoms have resolved – whichever period is longer. A person can spread mumps up to three days before they become ill which is why it is important to prevent illness with vaccinations.