A student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been confirmed positive for mumps last week prompting school officials to have a vaccination clinic at the Union Fireside Lounge this Wednesday.

Image/CDC
Image/CDC

The Norris Health Center is working closely with the City of Milwaukee Health Department to initiate the appropriate follow-up investigation with people who have had close contact. Statewide, there have been 37 cases reported in 2015. Most are associated with universities.

The school advises members of the campus community to check their immunization records to verify their vaccination status. If you need help determining whether you need a vaccination, or you have not been vaccinated, you can get vaccinated at no cost from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9, at the Union Fireside Lounge.

They also advise washing your hands regularly with soap and water; sneeze and cough into a tissue or your elbow; avoid sharing drinks, food and utensils and stay home if you are sick.

Mumps can be found in neighboring states, Iowa and Illinois, in bigger numbers. Between July and November, 2015, more than 100 laboratory confirmed cases of mumps occurred at the University of Iowa and the numbers have recently been increasing. Cases are primarily occurring in undergraduate students.

As of Monday, December 7, 2015, the Illinois Department of Public is reporting 378 cases of mumps statewide.

Nationally, 688 mumps cases have been reported to the CDC as of mid-November.

Mumps is an acute infectious viral disease that can cause swelling and tenderness of the salivary glands in the cheeks and jaw.

The virus is spread from person to person by coughing and sneezing and by direct contact with saliva and discharges from the nose and throat of infected individuals. Mumps is contagious three days prior to and four days after the onset of symptoms.

Symptoms of mumps usually appear 14 days to 18 days of infection. They usually include fever, headache, and swelling and tenderness of one or more of the salivary glands, usually the parotid gland (located just below the front of the ear at the angle of the jaw). In mild cases the swelling may only last for three days to four days, but it may go on even up to a week or more. Approximately one-third of infected people do not exhibit symptoms. There is no specific treatment for mumps.

Most complications that may arise involve other organs. Mumps can cause pain and swelling of the testicles, deafness and arthritis. It can cause central nervous system disorders such as encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and meningitis (inflammation of the covering of the brain and spinal column).

Robert Herriman is a microbiologist and the Editor-in-Chief of Outbreak News Today and the Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch

Follow @bactiman63

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