The number of reported mumps cases in Lane County has risen steadily since the first case was reported in early May, and has now reached 38.
There have been more than 50 cases statewide, and nine University students have been verified to have the infection. Health officials are unclear if or when the outbreak of the viral infection will plateau, and thus have begun taking steps to monitor and vaccinate for the disease more rigorously.
“We don’t like to see it because the mumps is a vaccine preventable disease,” said Betsy Meredith, communicable disease and family planning nursing supervisor for Lane County Public Health.
Beginning July 1, health care providers across Oregon will be required to report any confirmed cases of the mumps.
The University Health Center is also working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College Help Association to create new requirements that all college students be given two shots of measles-mumps-rubell vaccine, commonly known as MMR, or have proof that the student has either had mumps or is immune. Formerly, college students were only required to have one shot of MMR, have been born before 1957, have a blood test showing immunity or have a history of physician-diagnosed mumps.
“Really the bottom line and the only reason we’re doing this is to protect students, and to be sure that they don’t come down with something that will knock them out of classes for nine days,” said Tom Ryan, director of the Health Center.
The Health Center, Sacred Heart Medical Center, Lane County Public Health and other local health care providers all offer mumps vaccinations. Ryan said that the disease is more a public health issue than an individual health issue.
“I say that only because people get well from mumps. They have it, it clears up, it goes away and then they go on. But because of its impact on work, school, activities, all of those things, it is a disease that is spread easily from person to person.”
Public health also comes into play when a previously controlled disease becomes an outbreak because the causes are often puzzling to health officials.
“The reason that there’s attention being given to it is that there’s been such a big such a big outbreak in a disease that we thought really was under really good control,” he said. “The real cause for attention is that – for reasons that are not clearly understood – suddenly the vaccine doesn’t seem to be providing the level of protection that we would expect.”
Ryan said receiving the MMR vaccine once gives an 80 percent level of immunity, and receiving it twice gives 90 percent immunity. Ryan said many of the people who have come down with the disease in the Midwest have had been immunized.
“It’s got everybody asking, ‘Well, why now are we seeing mumps sort of surge into the prominence among a group that has always been immune to it before.”
Ryan said the CDC is saying that because having one or two shots only protects up to 80 percent or 90 percent respectively, the only people who are becoming infected are the 20 and 10 percent those who are not fully immune after receiving the vaccine.
“Everybody’s confused,” he said. “Well, why so many Because if those percentages of effectiveness haven’t changed and yet suddenly we’re seeing so many people in the Midwest who, ya know, there are a lot of one out of tens.”
The mumps outbreak surfaced nationally last summer in Iowa when an English traveler came to the state while infected with the disease, Ryan said. As of June 17 there
have been 1,619 confirmed cases in that state. On June 2, after a steady decrease in the number of reported cases, the Iowa Department of Public Health announced the epidemic contained.
In Oregon, though, the epidemic is yet to be contained. Meredith said she’s not sure if the epidemic is nearly at its pinnacle or has more momentum to grow.
“Mumps I’d expect to run its course,” she said. “But I also expect we’ll learn some things that guide us in the future.”
Ryan said that treating the mumps is difficult because it takes 14 days to receive results from the cultures, and someone suffering from the mumps is only sick for about nine days. This means officials must diagnose mumps patients by their symptoms: Fever, sore throat, loss of appetite and swollen tender glands under the jaw.
Ryan said it can be difficult for patients to follow doctors’ orders to stay in bed and be isolated for nine days when proof of infection won’t arrive until after the patient has already recovered. Because of this, patients might continue to be in public and infect others. This is especially problematic when doctors suspect the mumps but the patient lacks the classic signs, such as swelling of the glands.
“It’s very difficult for people to hear, ‘Well you need to remain isolated for nine days. You can’t go to your classes, you can’t go to your important events, you really need to stay home and avoid people.”
Meredith said the disease has infected people of all ages, ranging from age 3 to 70. She said there’s no way to be sure when the epidemic will slow, or if other similar communicable disease could make a similar resurgence.
“They’ve always got something new up their sleeve for us,” she said.
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