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Mumps Outbreak Spreads Beyond OSU Campus
By: Associated Press
Posted on:
UPDATE 3:45 p.m. Health officials say a mumps outbreak in the Columbus area has grown to 63 cases, including 45 linked to Ohio State University.
Columbus Public Health said Monday that the people infected with the contagious viral illness range in age from 4 to 55. The cases span from early January to this past weekend.
The total includes 36 students and four Ohio State staff members. Health officials are urging residents to make sure they have properly received two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, known as MMR.
Mumps often starts with fever, fatigue and body aches. It can be spread by droplets of saliva or mucus. Those infected are urged to stay home for a few days, cover their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing and frequently wash their hands.
Columbus Public Health on Monday said 40 of the mumps cases have been linked to the outbreak at Ohio State and have occurred in people ages 18 to 48.
The cases outside the university community in Columbus and Franklin County have been reported in people ages 4 to 50.
The health agency urged residents who have not been vaccinated for the mumps to do so.
Mumps is contagious and often starts with fever, fatigue and body aches. It's spread by droplets of saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose or throat of an infected person, usually when the person coughs, sneezes or talks.