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In what U.S. health officials are describing as the nation's largest mumps outbreak in at least 17 years, nearly 245 diagnosed or suspected cases of the disease have been reported in Iowa since mid-January.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is the nation's only outbreak, which the agency defines as five or more cases in a concentrated area, the Associated Press reported.
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"We are calling this an epidemic," said Iowa state epidemiologist Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, adding that mumps has spread to more than one-third of the state and does not appear to be limited to certain age groups or other segments of the population.
The CDC said the agency has no explanation for the outbreak. But Quinlisk said one possible explanation is that the infection originated in England because the strain in Iowa has been identified by the CDC as the same one that has caused tens of thousands of cases of mumps in a major outbreak in Britain over the past two years, the AP said.
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