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The University of Oklahoma is dealing with a mumps outbreak. According to Oklahoma’s News 4, the Oklahoma State Department of Health has confirmed three cases of mumps at the university. Tony Sellars, a spokesman with for the health department, confirmed the news on Tuesday, Sept. 18.
“We’re just confirming that we are working with the Cleveland County Health Department and the university at this time,” Public Information Officer Jamie Dukes said, via the Norman Transcript.
The report adds:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while vaccines protect against mumps outbreaks, they can still occur. Its website states outbreaks occur mostly between people who are exposed to a person with mumps over a prolonged period of time, “such as attending the same class, playing on the same sports team, or living in the same dormitory.” Symptoms of mumps usually start with a fever, headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, and later swollen and tender salivary glands under the ears or on both sides of the mouth. Some people will have mild symptoms or none at all and not even realize they have the virus.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health says it could take anywhere from 12-25 days for symptoms of the mumps to appear and those who contract the illness should fully recover in a few weeks.
Contraction of mumps can come from lengthy contact with someone else who has contracted the virus like attending class, playing on the same sports team, or living in the same dormitory. So while we wouldn’t necessarily suggest skipping out on class, it may not be the worst case scenario in this situation.
