More Mumps Cases Reported

By Paul Swiech, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.

Apr. 26–BLOOMINGTON — The number of mumps cases is edging upward and Central Illinois public health officials are urging residents age 50 and younger to make sure they’ve been vaccinated against the viral condition.

LaSalle, Tazewell, Logan and DeWitt counties each have one confirmed case of the mumps, Illinois Department of Public Health reported Tuesday. Woodford County reported its first confirmed case earlier this month.

McLean County remains at three confirmed cases, county health department director Bob Keller said. The two females and one male are between the ages of 15 and 40, two are students, and none of them had to be hospitalized, he said.

A fourth McLean County resident is a probable mumps patient but that hasn’t been verified by testing, Keller said. Two other residents may have mumps and are being monitored.

Statewide, Illinois has 157 cases of mumps, compared with 13 in a typical year, the state public health department reported.

County health departments declined to describe the patients because of patient confidentiality.

Sara Sparkman of the Tazewell County Health Department said Tazewell County is investigating one suspected case in addition to the confirmed case.

“We anticipate more cases because mumps is contagious like flu,” said Leslie Dougherty, health educator with the LaSalle County Health Department.

Dougherty repeated public health warnings that people wash their hands often and thoroughly, cover their mouth and nose when they sneeze and cough, not share cups and utensils, and see their doctor if they begin to experience swollen salivary glands, fever, headache and malaise.

But Keller and Sparkman didn’t think the number of cases in Illinois would rise to the numbers in Iowa, where the mumps outbreak began earlier this year. Illinois requires all incoming college freshmen to have had two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Iowa does not require that.

Keller clarified that college and high school students who had two doses of the MMR vaccine when they were children do not need to be immunized again.

“Two MMRs are considered to be substantial to establish immunity,” Keller said.

But he and Dougherty warned that the mumps vaccine doesn’t work in about 5 percent of all cases.

Mumps vaccine guidelines

People born before 1957 are likely to have been infected naturally and are presumed to be immune. They should not be vaccinated unless a mumps blood test indicates that they are not immune.

People born after 1957 who have had two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine do not need to be immunized again. Check with your doctor to see whether you’ve received both doses. Most children have been vaccinated because it is required for admission into school.

Children are recommended to get one MMR vaccine dose at 12 months old and a second dose at 4 to 6 years old.

SOURCES: Tazewell County Health Department, McLean County Health Department

Compiled by Paul Swiech

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.

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