The first confirmed case was reported about a week ago, according to Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County officials, and students have been quarantined from school until they are no longer contagious. Mumps can last a few weeks and cause fever, headache, muscle aches and swollen salivary glands.
So far, no cases have been reported at any other local colleges, including Wright State University.
Still, the growing number of mumps cases — which represent an outbreak at UD — has led health officials to strongly encourage all college communities to be more vigilant and to take steps to help prevent the spread of mumps, such as covering coughs and frequently wash hands.
While mumps cases have seen a sharp decline in recent years, outbreaks still happen and are most prevalent in high-contact social settings like college campuses, where the disease is transmitted through the air or by touching unwashed, contaminated surfaces, said Donna Youtz, public health nurse coordinator for county health department.
“Anytime you’ve got people in close contact in dorms, classrooms, socializing in big groups; that makes it more likely to spread and have an outbreak,” said Youtz, noting that three or more cases is all it takes to be designated an outbreak.
Last year, nearly 500 people, most of whom lived in the Columbus area and were connected with Ohio State University, were diagnosed with mumps — the largest outbreak in the United States in more than 30 years. The outbreak was tied to a group of unvaccinated Amish men who traveled to the Philippines on a disaster-relief mission, and brought the disease back with them.
Most people who contract mumps recover on their own, but mumps can also cause serious complications, including encephalitis and meningitis.
Getting vaccinated is the most effective way to fight the highly contagious disease, and all incoming students born after 1956 are required to have received two MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccines. But exemptions can be given for medical, religious or philosophical reasons.
And even vaccinated people can be susceptible to the virus that causes mumps, said Larry Cleek, emergency preparedness coordinator for Montgomery County.
“About 95 percent of the population at UD have had the vaccine,” Cleek said. “But a good share of those positives (positive test results) have been vaccinated before.”
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