According to The New York Times, the largest mump outbreak hits the United States in two decades. The mumps virus can cause swollen, painful salivary glands, headaches, fever and sore throat. Steven Dowshen, MD over at KidsHealth says:

Many of the cases have occurred among college students. This may be due to lower vaccination rates among students and the potential for the virus to easily spread among people living in close quarters. Although the vaccine is generally effective in preventing the infection, some of those who have been immunized can still get the disease if the vaccine “didn’t take.” The mumps virus is highly contagious and can be spread in saliva when people sneeze, cough, and share utensils.

Here are some tips for preventing the spread of the disease:

• Make sure every family member is up-to-date on vaccines.

• Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze and cough.

• Avoid sharing eating and drinking utensils.

• Encourage your kids to do the same.

• Have regular and thorough handwashing.

Mumps Outbreak Hits United States [KidsHealth]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 at 11:44 pm and is filed under Health & Safety, How-to Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.