FAYETTEVILLE -- Three cases of mumps have been confirmed at the University of Arkansas with another case suspected, the state Department of Health announced Wednesday.
Meg Mirivel, the department's public information director, said the department learned of the first case early this month.
While mumps typically is a mild disease in children, the illness in adults can be more serious. Complications can lead to deafness and involve inflammation of the brain, according to the state Department of Health.
Students and university staff who may have been in close contact with the confirmed cases are being encouraged to be vaccinated for the disease, as are those who have previously received a vaccine exemption.
Under state law, children generally are required to be vaccinated against mumps before attending school, but exemptions are allowed for medical, religious or philosophical reasons.
MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccines are available to the UA community at the Pat Walker Health Center on campus and also at the county health unit in Fayetteville.
Zac Brown, a UA spokesman, said Wednesday the three people with mumps were students but all had recovered.
"The fourth (and suspected) case presented to us on Monday, so we are still waiting to get those test results back," Brown said in an email.
Brown said the first case was a student who showed signs of symptoms near the end of January, and the students confirmed to have mumps were removed from classes while in their contagious period.
At least two lived on campus and were moved to be kept isolated according to standard protocols, he said.
Brown said the university has contacted those potentially exposed to the students confirmed to have mumps.
Mumps symptoms include painful and swollen salivary glands resulting in puffy cheeks and jaw swelling, according to the state Department of Health. Symptoms usually end within a few weeks.
There's no treatment for the viral illness, which can be spread through direct contact with saliva or respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing.
The state saw an outbreak of mumps in 2016 and 2017, with nearly 3,000 cases, according to the state Department of Health.
According to national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year, as of Jan. 31, mumps infections in 58 people have been reported in 18 states, including three states bordering Arkansas: Missouri, Louisiana and Texas. Mumps outbreaks, however, aren't required to be reported.
Outbreaks in 2016 and 2017 led to more than 6,000 cases nationally each of those years, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noting the cases mostly affected young adults. The state Department of Health described the nearly 3,000 Arkansas cases "from August 2016 to August 2017" as "the second-largest mumps outbreak in the United States in the last 30 years."
NW News on 02/21/2019