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Source: http://www.app.com/article/20091022/NEWS/910220338/1070/NEWS02/15+cases+of+mumps+found+in+Lakewood
15 cases of mumps found in Lakewood
By MATTHEW McGRATH ? TOMS RIVER BUREAU ? October 22, 2009
LAKEWOOD ? An outbreak of mumps ? a once-common childhood disease that is now much less of a problem in the United States ? has affected between 15 and 30 young adults here, and state and Ocean County health officials are investigating.
The outbreak here is linked to one in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, said Marilyn Riley, a state Department of Health and Senior Services spokeswoman. The Brooklyn outbreak is concentrated in the Borough Park section and has mostly affected children who attended summer camp in upstate New York, according to media reports.
Health workers are now working to identify all the cases in New Jersey, Riley said.
The mumps outbreak occurred even though the young adults were fully immunized, county health department spokeswoman Leslie Terjesen said. The number of confirmed cases are only 15, Riley said.
The virus has spread through households and to others that had close contact with infected people, Terjesen said.
The virus is spread through sneezing, coughing and other transmissions of saliva, experts said. It can be transmitted anytime from three days before symptoms appear to about nine days after symptoms appear. The virus needs between two and three weeks to incubate, experts said, and most children and adults recover within two weeks.
Typically, since vaccines for mumps were developed in the 1960s, inoculations are given to children more than one year old, with a second dose at around ages 5 or 6, health experts said. However, vaccine is about 90 percent effective, and outbreaks do occur, officials said.
The tell-tale symptom of mumps are inflamed salivary glands in the cheeks near the jaw line and near the ears. Other symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite.
15 cases of mumps found in Lakewood
By MATTHEW McGRATH ? TOMS RIVER BUREAU ? October 22, 2009
LAKEWOOD ? An outbreak of mumps ? a once-common childhood disease that is now much less of a problem in the United States ? has affected between 15 and 30 young adults here, and state and Ocean County health officials are investigating.
The outbreak here is linked to one in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, said Marilyn Riley, a state Department of Health and Senior Services spokeswoman. The Brooklyn outbreak is concentrated in the Borough Park section and has mostly affected children who attended summer camp in upstate New York, according to media reports.
Health workers are now working to identify all the cases in New Jersey, Riley said.
The mumps outbreak occurred even though the young adults were fully immunized, county health department spokeswoman Leslie Terjesen said. The number of confirmed cases are only 15, Riley said.
The virus has spread through households and to others that had close contact with infected people, Terjesen said.
The virus is spread through sneezing, coughing and other transmissions of saliva, experts said. It can be transmitted anytime from three days before symptoms appear to about nine days after symptoms appear. The virus needs between two and three weeks to incubate, experts said, and most children and adults recover within two weeks.
Typically, since vaccines for mumps were developed in the 1960s, inoculations are given to children more than one year old, with a second dose at around ages 5 or 6, health experts said. However, vaccine is about 90 percent effective, and outbreaks do occur, officials said.
The tell-tale symptom of mumps are inflamed salivary glands in the cheeks near the jaw line and near the ears. Other symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite.