Source of Mumps Case Not Verified: It’s Not Yet Clear If Woman’s Recent Infection is Linked to Iowa Outbreak
By Jeremy Olson, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Apr. 22–A Washington County woman has been infected with the mumps virus, but Minnesota health officials do not yet know if the 55-year-old’s illness is connected to an alarming outbreak centered in Iowa.
The addition brings the state’s total to eight mumps cases so far this year. One other case in Rice County involved someone with an Iowa relative who had the mumps, and another involved a Jackson County child whose family frequently traveled in Iowa, said state Health Department spokesman Buddy Ferguson.
Other potential cases still are being investigated.
Iowa has reported 975 confirmed and suspected cases of mumps in an outbreak that appears to have started on a college campus and spread when students traveled for spring break. Seven other states have reported cases as well, and the total of probable infections has now surpassed 1,200. The genotype of the virus in this outbreak generally matches one involved in an ongoing outbreak in England.
The crowded nature of college campuses and the recent holiday travel have been “setting off a cascade of transmissions that is going to take a while to curtail and eventually stop,” said Dr. Julie Gerberding, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, earlier this week.
The outbreak is surprising because mumps is part of a vaccine that is given in two doses and is required before most American children enter public school. The U.S. typically only sees 265 cases per year and Minnesota rarely reports more than 10 infections each year.
Iowa public health officials have reviewed the vaccination histories of more than 400 people who were infected. It appears so far that one in 10 victims had only one dose, while six in 10 had both doses of the vaccine, which is 90 percent effective.
State health officials in Iowa are distributing 25,000 doses of mumps vaccine to counties with colleges and universities.
Jeremy Olson can be reached at jolson@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5583.
What is mumps? A viral illness that is marked by fever, aches and a swelling of the salivary glands. Rare cases can result in meningitis, a swelling of the brain or spinal cord, or orchitis, a swelling of the testes that can lead to male infertility.
How can you prevent infection? A vaccine is typically given in two doses — an initial dose in infancy and a booster dose at age 4 to 6. The vaccine is 90 percent effective.
How many cases in the state? Minnesota typically sees eight or nine mumps cases each year.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
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