During March 2018, Texas health officials issued a warning at a cheerleading championship that nearly 25,000 people may have been exposed to mumps, a contagious virus that causes the salivary glands in the face to become swollen. Symptoms can include fever, headache and muscle aches, and typically occur 16 to 18 days after a person contracts the virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mumps outbreaks can occur any time of the year, but a major factor contributing to outbreaks is being in a crowded environment, such as a college dorm or playing on a sports team. CDC says the primary way to protect against mumps is through vaccination, which has been proven to drastically reduce mumps cases. During its October 2017 meeting, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended a third dose of the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine to improve protection of persons in outbreak settings against mumps disease and mumps-related complications.
CDC states that mumps cases have decreased more than 99% with the introduction of the mumps program in 1967. However, the number of reported mumps cases has been increasing in recent years. In 2012, 229 cases were reported compared to 6,366 cases in 2016. From 2016-2017, a large outbreak in an Arkansas community resulted in nearly 3,000 cases, and from March 2017 to January 2018, Hawaii confirmed and reported over 800 cases.
The Public Health Foundation offers resources and trainings for public health, healthcare, and other professionals that can assist with addressing mumps outbreaks in the community: