Saturday, May 08, 2010
Mumps cases growing
More than 30 mumps cases have been reported in Nebraska and Iowa, health authorities said this week.
Twenty-one are Nebraska cases and 11 are Iowa cases, including at least four in northwest Iowa.
The federal Centers for Disease Control said Friday the only other states reporting mumps are New York and New Jersey, and those are primarily attributable to outbreaks in Hasidic Jewish schools there. Jeff Dimond, a CDC spokesman, said there isn’t a known connection between the cases in the Midwest and those in the northeast.
The outbreak is nowhere near that which occurred nationwide in 2006. That year, close to 2,000 cases were reported in Iowa and 363 in Nebraska.
Most Nebraska cases this spring have been linked to an alumni basketball tourney at Columbus Scotus High School in late March, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said.
Mumps is a contagious infection of the salivary glands. It’s spread through coughing or direct contact with mucus or saliva. Symptoms include fever, headaches and swelling beneath the jaw.
Since 2005, there has been only one mumps death in Nebraska or Iowa. The Iowa Department of Public Health said that individual had several other serious health problems, too.
“Sometimes mumps can be very serious, and there’s something that people can do about it,” said Dr. Marvin Bittner, an associate professor in the Creighton University School of Medicine.
Bittner said parents should make sure their children are vaccinated for mumps. Public health authorities generally recommend that children be vaccinated at 12 to 15 months of age, and again at 4 to 6 years of age.
The Nebraska health agency said the age group most at risk is between 30 and 65 years old. People younger than that most likely have received the vaccine, and those older than that probably have immunity because of exposure to the disease.
The state agency says preventive strategies include handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding touching one’s nose, eyes and mouth.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100508/LIVING01/705089776
Twenty-one are Nebraska cases and 11 are Iowa cases, including at least four in northwest Iowa.
The federal Centers for Disease Control said Friday the only other states reporting mumps are New York and New Jersey, and those are primarily attributable to outbreaks in Hasidic Jewish schools there. Jeff Dimond, a CDC spokesman, said there isn’t a known connection between the cases in the Midwest and those in the northeast.
The outbreak is nowhere near that which occurred nationwide in 2006. That year, close to 2,000 cases were reported in Iowa and 363 in Nebraska.
Most Nebraska cases this spring have been linked to an alumni basketball tourney at Columbus Scotus High School in late March, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said.
Mumps is a contagious infection of the salivary glands. It’s spread through coughing or direct contact with mucus or saliva. Symptoms include fever, headaches and swelling beneath the jaw.
Since 2005, there has been only one mumps death in Nebraska or Iowa. The Iowa Department of Public Health said that individual had several other serious health problems, too.
“Sometimes mumps can be very serious, and there’s something that people can do about it,” said Dr. Marvin Bittner, an associate professor in the Creighton University School of Medicine.
Bittner said parents should make sure their children are vaccinated for mumps. Public health authorities generally recommend that children be vaccinated at 12 to 15 months of age, and again at 4 to 6 years of age.
The Nebraska health agency said the age group most at risk is between 30 and 65 years old. People younger than that most likely have received the vaccine, and those older than that probably have immunity because of exposure to the disease.
The state agency says preventive strategies include handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding touching one’s nose, eyes and mouth.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100508/LIVING01/705089776
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