Mumps spreading on Indiana college campuses
More than a dozen university students in Indiana have come down with mumps in the past two weeks on three college campuses in what health officials are calling separate outbreaks.
Indiana University announced Friday two new cases, for a total of four on its Bloomington campus and one at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
Butler announced last week that three students had mumps. On Friday, the university said an additional six students have contracted mumps since Feb. 11, for a total of nine cases.
Because there is no known link between cases on the campuses, they are being considered as separate outbreaks at this time, State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams said.
There is no known connection among the four people who fell ill at Indiana University, said Dr. Diana Ebling, medical director of the Indiana University Health Center.
There is no known connection among the Butler cases, either.
Additional cases are possible. More people are being tested, state health officials said.
On Friday, Dana Altemeyer, a spokeswoman for Lawrence Township Schools, confirmed that one student teacher at Amy Beverland Elementary School had been diagnosed with mumps.
"(The teacher) has been out of the building since Tuesday," Altemeyer told IndyStar in an email. "No students have been diagnosed."
Marion County health officials have been made aware of the case, as have families and district nursing staff, Altemeyer said.
Common symptoms of mumps include a puffy jaw because of swollen and tender glands under the ears, as well as fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite. Some people might have mild symptoms and not even realize they have the virus, which could help in spreading it, Ebling said.
Although most people who have mumps recover completely in about a week, it can cause more serious complications, such as deafness or infertility. It also can be deadly.
Most people are vaccinated against the disease in childhood. Two doses are required for a person to be fully vaccinated.
In hopes of stopping the spread, the Marion County Public Health Department "strongly recommended” that Butler students, staff and faculty get a third booster shot if they are fully vaccinated.
“Getting that third is recommended in midst of the outbreak to mitigate any further spread,” said Health Department spokesman Curt Brantingham.
Those who have not been vaccinated should get the vaccine. Butler students are required to be fully vaccinated with two doses of the vaccine unless they have a medical or religious waiver, Butler spokesman Marc Allan said.
The Health Department and Butler will offer clinics on campus Tuesday and Wednesday to administer vaccines for the approximately 5,500 students, faculty and staff, Allan said.
Meanwhile, the diagnosed students have been "isolated and will not return to campus activities until they are symptom-free," Allan said.
Health and university officials say they are monitoring what happens at the two IU campuses to see whether the number of cases increases in coming days. There are no plans now to run booster clinics on either campus.
“We’re not at that point with IUPUI yet,” Brantingham said. “They have the one case.”
IU’s Ebling said that her campus will consider its options in the days to come.
“We’ll be looking at all possibilities there,” she said. “The university along with the state and county health departments are going to be looking at all possible ways of reducing the spread of mumps.”
The university and local and state health officials are notifying anyone who has been in close contact with anybody who has had mumps.
Before 1967, mumps was a common childhood disease, with about 186,000 cases each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccination program reduced the number of cases by about 99 percent.
Dr. Stephen Wintermeyer, director of campus health at IUPUI, said he cannot recall diagnosing a single patient with mumps in 20 years.
Still, outbreaks do occur, often on college campuses, particularly in the winter and spring. In 2014, more than 480 people in Central Ohio were diagnosed with mumps, many of them students at The Ohio State University. That outbreak involved more than twice the number of people in the United States to be diagnosed with mumps in 2012.
This year, Iowa has seen an outbreak of about 200 cases, and many of those diagnosed attend the University of Iowa.
Although most residential colleges require that all students be fully vaccinated, the vaccine is only about 88 percent effective, according to the CDC.
That could help explain why mumps outbreaks happen even when the vast majority of the population is fully vaccinated, experts say. The virus can spread through coughing, sneezing, talking or touching infected objects or surfaces, according to the CDC.
Nor does everyone who develops mumps display typical symptoms.
What you should do:
• Check your vaccination record with your primary care provider. Currently, the best way to prevent mumps is to be vaccinated with two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or MMR. Two doses of vaccine are considered to be 80 to 90 percent effective at preventing infection, so some people who have been fully vaccinated with two MMRs might still contract mumps. If you haven’t received the MMR vaccine, please get vaccinated immediately.
• Practice good hygiene habits.Regularly washing your hands with soap and water; sneezing and coughing into a tissue or your elbow; and avoiding the sharing of drinks, food and utensils are good ways to prevent illness and transmission.
• Stay home if you have any symptoms. If you have any of the symptoms, even if you received your MMR vaccine, stay home away from others and call your primary care provider.
• The state has set up a hotline. Call (877) 826-0011 if you have any questions about mumps.
Call IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at (317) 444-6354. Follow her on Twitter: @srudavsky.