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More than 300 people in Rockland have been diagnosed with the mumps as a cluster that started last summer in an upstate camp for Jewish boys and turned into the largest outbreak nationwide in years continues, health officials said.

A total of 303 cases have been diagnosed in Rockland, Commissioner of Health Joan Facelle said.

Just about all local cases of the highly infectious disease are among Orthodox Jewish and Hasidic residents of Monsey and New Square, she said.

"We are hoping that we are past the peak," said Facelle. "But it's too soon to tell."

The department is continuing to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state health officials to try to contain the outbreak. The Rockland Department of Health is also reaching out to community leaders, including rabbis and yeshiva directors to stress the importance of immunization, Facelle said.

The outbreak started in August in a Sullivan County, N.Y., summer camp for Orthodox boys, according to the CDC.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20100205/NEWS03/2050387/-1/NEWSFRONT/Mumps-cases-still-rising-in-Rockland