The mumps outbreak in Arkansas is the largest in the nation this year with the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) now investigating 1,872 suspected and lab confirmed cases of mumps, easily the most in the United States.

To get a better understanding of the situation in Arkansas and issues with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine where 94 percent of school aged children infected in the outbreak (>1,100) have been fully vaccinated, State Epidemiologist and Medical Director for Outbreak Response at the ADH, Dirk Haselow, MD, PhD joined me on Sunday’s Outbreak News This Week Radio Show to discuss the latest.

The outbreak has spread over the recent weeks to 11 counties to include Benton, Carroll, Clark, Conway, Faulkner, Garland, Howard, Madison, Pulaski, Washington and Yell.

Haselow said the Arkansas mumps outbreak is the second largest statewide outbreak in the United States in the past fifteen years and according to Dr Dirk Haselow, he sees it getting worse, in fact, he believes the outbreak may end up being the largest since the turn of the century.

LISTEN to the podcast below:

The Outbreak News This Week Radio Show, the first and only radio program dedicated to infectious disease and health news and information, airs every Sunday at 8 pm ET in the Tampa Bay area on AM 1380 The Biz and online at http://1380thebiz.com/

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