Childhood Illness Mumps Have Returned – Outbreak Begins in Iowa

As a child, I was bad on getting strep throat. My throat of course would swell and I would fear that I was getting mumps. My mother and grandmother told me about mumps. It was something their generation got. Being a child in the 70’s and 80’s, I feared mumps, measles and chicken-pox. Chicken Pox was the only one I got and the only one I know any of my friends or my classmates catching. I never knew anyone who had mumps or measles.

Imagine, my surprise recently when I was watching the news and heard that there may be an outbreak of mumps. Were the kidding?

Doing some research I found out as of April 13, 2006 The New York Times reported that there has been 515 reported cases of the Mumps in Iowa and in the 5 surrounding states in the last 3 months. This is the largest outbreak in 17 years.

For those of you who do not know what mumps is, it is caused by a virus. The symptoms of mumps include swollen glands, especially in the throat, high fever and headache. It can also lead to other serious health problems, especially if left untreated.

One quarter of the cases in Iowa has been found at the local colleges. The reason being that this generation of young adults were not vaccinated against the virus and being a virus it spreads quicker among people who lives in such close quarters.

The first symptoms of mumps is pain in the throat along with swelling and pain over the jaw, back of the cheeks and fever of 101 degrees. If your child is showing these symptoms, you should take him/her to the doctor for diagnosis.

Can the mumps be prevented? Yes, with vaccinates. Usually, a child is vaccinated against mumps at the age of 12 to 15 months old and then again between 4 and 6 years of age. If your child is a teenager and hasn’t had his/her second vaccination, you should arrange for it, just in case. The vaccination is called a MMR vaccination. It stands for Measles, Mumps and Rubella.

The mumps usually lasts about 10 days to 2 weeks. Since the mumps is extremely contagious your child should stay at home while he/she is recuperating. You should also teach your child to cover his/her mouth when sneezing and coughing.

Yes, the old story about a boy’s testicles being infected with mumps is also a true story. When boys are affected with mumps, their testicles may also become inflamed. This will cause them pain and swelling in that region. But this does not rarely ever led to future sterility. Ovaries of teenage girls can also be affected, causing pain and tenderness in the abdomen.

Can adults develop mumps? Yes, if they have not taken the MMR vaccination. But generally those over 50 years of age won’t develop it because they have developed a natural immunity from living through it. But adults under the age of 50 can get it, especially if they work with children or are around children a lot. Of course, adults can take the MMR vaccination now just to be safe.

How did mumps redevelop after all this time? Researchers believe air travel is to blame as well as people becoming relaxed in the vaccination schedule for children.

Don’t let the news reports of mumps scare you. Just check your children’s and your own vaccination records and keep them up to date.

Hopefully, if enough people gets their vaccinations as suggested, mumps will soon be once again a virus of the past.