Oklahoma State Department of Health Notice

Mumps Case in Rogers County

Oklahoma State Department of Health

For Release: March 13, 2017- Tony Sellars, Office of Communications- 405-2715601

Important Information Regarding Mumps Case in Rogers County

Since 2016, the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has been investigating and providing a public health response to individuals with suspect mumps throughout the state. Recent laboratory tests have identified a case of mumps in a Rogers County school-aged child. Information obtained during the case investigation suggests the child was NOT contagious with the mumps virus while in school attendance. State and local public health officials are working closely with schools and healthcare providers to rapidly identify suspected mumps cases and exclude affected persons from childcare centers, schools or workplaces dunng the timeframe they are able to transmit mumps to other persons.

Mumps is a virus that is spread from one person to another by coughing, sneezing, kissing and other types of direct contact with saliva, such as sharing food or drink with an infected person. Symptoms of mumps include swelling on one or both sides of the face, tenderness of the salivary glands in the cheek and jaw area, slight fever, headache, general aches and muscle pain. The illness usually resolves without medical intervention, but in rare cases can lead to serious complications and hospitalization.

Symptoms usually appear 16-18 days after infection. Infected individuals can transmit the vin stwo days before symptoms appear and up to five days after symptoms begin.

"If parents observe symptoms of mumps in their child, we are strongly requesting that the child be kept at home for the five days after those symptoms are discovered," said Rogers County Health Department Director, Larry Bergner. "This is the most effective way to prevent the disease from spreading."

Two doses of the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine that are required for school attendance is 88 o effective in preventing mumps.

OSDH has prepared a fact sheet on mumps that can be found at https://www.ok.gov/health2/documents/Mumps.pdf.