In the largest U.S. mumps outbreak in 20 years, more than 1,200 cases of mumps have been reported, with many coming from college students.
This is a stark contrast to 2003, when less than 300 cases of the mumps were reported nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So far, there have been no reported deaths from the recent outbreak.
This phenomenon happens to be, reportedly, the biggest epidemic of mumps in the U.S. since 269 cases were reported in Douglas County, Kan., from October 1988 to April 1989.
In Iowa alone, 815 confirmed or suspected cases of mumps were reported to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The state has seen around five cases annually in recent years. Iowa's last major outbreak of mumps occurred in 1987 when 476 people were infected.
The first case of mumps was reported at a university in eastern Iowa in Dec., 2005. According to the CDC, out of several students who were screened for mumps, two tested positive.
The mumps, already spreading throughout Iowa, has spread to neighboring states like Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska.
The outbreaks in the Midwest colleges were most likely facilitated by the close proximity of students in the dormitories.
Health officials are still uncertain as to what caused the outbreak. One possibility is that the infection carried over from England, where the same strain of mumps has resulted in tens of thousands of cases over the past two years. Since the first appearences of the mumps in America were reported on college campuses, it has led to speculation that the outbreak was brought over by a college student.
Not long ago, two students at the Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., were diagnosed with the mumps. So far, state epidemiologists have not found evidence connecting these cases to the epidemic spreading in the Midwest. Interviews with the students are still being conducted to find a possible link.
Students fall into the common misconception that vaccination against the mumps will prevent infection.
However, the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is required for all children entering public schools in Iowa, does not guarantee protection from the mumps. It is only 95 percent effective.
About half the cases in Iowa involved college students, and most of these students had been vaccinated prior to the infection.
Dr. Alain Joffe, director of the Student Health and Wellness Center, said, "Even among students who have gotten two doses, approximately five to 10 percent do not develop protective antibody levels. So on the JHU campus, and assuming 5500 students, some 275-550 students could be susceptible."
Mumps is a virus that infects the salivary glands. It has a wide variety of symptoms, with the most common including swollen glands in the neck and head region, fever, headache and sore throat. In rare cases, it can damage the testicles or ovaries and cause deafness.
Students will be able to notice an infection with the onset of puffy cheeks, due to a salivary gland inflammation.
There is no treatment for the mumps, but medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen are used to relieve fever, pain and body aches.
The virus can spread through saliva or exhaled water droplets and symptoms usually do not appear until 16 to 18 days after exposure. It usually lasts five to 10 days. Some people with the disease do not show symptoms, which makes it harder to track the spread.
A recently confirmed case at Loyola University in Baltimore has raised concerns at Hopkins, especially with final exams coming up.
Joffe offers some advice for students to avoid catching the mumps. "Since mumps is spread by respiratory droplets or saliva and the virus can survive for a limited time on surfaces, good hand washing, not sharing towels/washcloths and not sharing drinking or eating utensils are all important," Joffe said.
"Mumps is scary. It's a very serious epidemic that students should watch out for. I think people should be careful about who they choose to hook up with at parties," junior Kevin Lai said.
"As a college student, it's pretty scary to hear about any health epidemic. It just proves that people need to be careful and learn to take care of themselves to prevent an outbreak like this," Aniruddha Nene, a junior Mechanical Engineering major at Tufts University, said.
