SPRINGDALE (KFSM) — Following the Labor Day holiday weekend, the Arkansas Department of Health updated its number of confirmed cases of mumps to 14 and suspected cases to 59 in Northwest Arkansas.
On Friday (Sept. 2), the ADH said there were nine confirmed cases of mumps and 48 suspected cases of the virus after the agency initially reporter the outbreak Wednesday.
Nearly 30 students and two staff members in the Springdale School District have reported symptoms of mumps and have been sent home for 26 days, according to spokesman Rick Schaeffer.
According to AHD, this is the largest outbreak of mumps since 2010. They are investigating, but right now do not know where the outbreak started.
Schaeffer said all students are required to get a vaccination for mumps before they can go to class unless their parents submit a form claiming the vaccination is against their religious beliefs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mumps is a viral illness that is transmitted by direct contact with respiratory droplets or saliva from an infected person. Symptoms include painful, swollen salivary glands that show up as puffy cheeks and swollen jaw. Boys may also have painful, swollen testicles. Other symptoms include fever, headache, muscles aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite.
There is no treatment, and symptoms usually resolve themselves within a few weeks. Mumps is usually a mild disease in children, but adults may have more serious disease with complications.
