The Grundy County Health Department recently posted to their blog that they are currently investigating several suspected cases of mumps in Grundy County residents.
At this time there has been one lab-confirmed case of the illness in Grundy County. There is currently an outbreak of mumps in Central Missouri with 73 cases reported.
Grundy County Health Department, along with all health departments throughout the state, have disease surveillance systems in place to identify illnesses like the mumps. Medical providers are required to report the diagnosis or suspicion of mumps cases (along with other diseases) to the county health department for investigation.
Mumps is a viral illness. The symptoms of mumps are body aches, loss of appetite, fatigue, headaches fever and parotitis. Parotitis is an inflammation of one or both of the major salivary (parotid) glands located on either side of the face. Visit the CDC website for more information about mumps: www.cdc.gov/mumps/.
Vaccination is the best way to prevent mumps, but it is only effective prior to exposure. People born before 1957 are considered immune to the illness because of the prevalence of the disease in the childhood population prior to that year. Adults born after 1957 should have two doses of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) to be fully immunized if they do not have evidence of immunity, possibly gained by having contracted mumps as a child.
Missouri law requires children to have two MMR vaccinations before attending school.
Check with the Grundy County Health Department or your physician if you are not adequately immunized. If you have symptoms of the mumps, see your physician for evaluation.
For more information about the mumps or MMR vaccination, please call the Grundy County Health Department at 660-359-4196.
