April 14, 2006

Little Rock -- The Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health (DOH), is monitoring the mumps epidemic reported in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota. This epidemic is the Nation’s first in twenty years. The DOH has contacted fellow Arkansas passengers of an infected Iowa traveler that was on a plane that landed at Northwest Regional Airport in Bentonville. The infected Iowa passenger then left northwest Arkansas and flew to St. Louis. There are no confirmed cases of mumps in Arkansas at this time; however, DOH has cautioned Arkansas passengers of the flight to contact their private physicians if they experience mumps symptoms.

Mumps is caused by a virus spread by coughing and sneezing. The symptoms include fever, headache and swollen glands in front of the ear and around the jaw. Symptoms usually appear 14-18 days after exposure. The disease can lead to hearing loss, meningitis and inflammation of the testicles and ovaries resulting in possible sterility.

Mumps is seen very rarely in the United States. Two cases were reported in Arkansas in 2005.

The decline in mumps cases in largely due to vaccination efforts since 1977. A dose of mumps vaccine is routinely recommended for all children. The vaccine is given on or after the first birthday. The vaccine is 80 percent effective. It is believed that the epidemic in the Midwest was probably the result of the five percent of vaccinated persons in which the vaccine did give protection.

For more information on mumps, click on www.cdc.gov or http://www.idph.state.ia.us/adper/faq_general.asp#008.

Mumps Fact Sheet - pdf
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