The mumps outbreak at Ohio State University has spread to 28 people, and city health officials worry that number could spike drastically as students return from spring break this week.
"The possibility is always there for more cases,"
city health department spokesman Jose Rodriguez told Reuters Tuesday. "With the long incubation period mumps has, it is a recipe for a prolonged outbreak."
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The 28 cases include 23 students, one staff member, one relative of a student, and three people who have
strong ties to the university, the Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday.
Mumps typically starts with a few days of fever, headaches, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite, and is followed by swelling of the salivary glands. Rare complications include inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, fertility problems, and deafness,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People who were vaccinated with the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, as an infant and again between the ages of 4 and 6, are 90 percent less likely to contract mumps, according to the CDC. It's spread through droplets of saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose, or throat of an infected person, usually when the person coughs, sneezes, or talks. Ohio State University students are reportedly not required to have the MMR vaccine.
A similar
mumps outbreak spread through New York City's Fordham University last month, sickening at least 13 people on the school's two campuses.
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