Three mumps cases confirmed on UA campus in Fayetteville

 

Three cases of mumps have been confirmed on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville over the last few weeks, with a third case suspected.

The Arkansas Department of Health announced the news on Wednesday, and encouraged students, faculty and staff to make sure they are up to date on their Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccination and to seek care if they experience symptoms.

Department officials said they’re working with university to alert students and staff who may have been in close contact with the confirmed cases.

UA students, faculty and staff can be vaccinated at the Pat Walker Health Center on campus. Vaccines for the general public are available at the county health unit at 3270 Wimberly Drive in Fayetteville, and at local doctors’ offices and pharmacies.

From the department:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mumps is a viral illness that is transmitted by direct contact with respiratory droplets or saliva from an infected person. It is best known for painful, swollen salivary glands that show up as puffy cheeks and swollen jaw. Boys may also have painful, swollen testicles. In some of these cases, fertility can be affected. Other symptoms include fever, headache, muscles aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite. There is no treatment, and symptoms usually resolve themselves within a few weeks. Mumps is usually a mild disease in children, but adults may have more serious disease with complications. Complications can include deafness and encephalitis. Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain.

Officials said from August 2016 to August 2017, Arkansas experienced the “second-largest mumps outbreak in the United States in the last 30 years” when nearly 3,000 state mumps cases were identified during that period.