ENID, Okla. (KFSM) — Nearly 40 suspected and confirmed cases of mumps were reported this week in Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Department of Health said four cases of mumps have been confirmed in Garfield County and at least 34 more cases are under investigation after students in two Enid Public Schools showed symptoms of the virus. The majority of cases were found in middle school and high school students.
Mumps is a contagious disease caused by a virus. It typically starts with a few days of fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite, followed by swollen salivary glands, according to the CDC.
Symptoms usually appear 16 to 18 days after infection. Infected individuals can transmit the virus two days before symptoms appear and up to five days after symptoms begin, the state health department said.
There is currently an outbreak of mumps in Northwest Arkansas, which is about three hours away from Enid. Suspected and confirmed cases there were at 196 Friday (Sept. 16), according to the Arkansas Department of Health.
The ADH said the Oklahoma health department will conduct its own investigation into where the mumps virus came from and would not comment on whether the Arkansas cases are related to the ones in Oklahoma.
