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THURSDAY, Feb. 11 (HealthDay News) -- In a recent mumps outbreak occurring in the eastern United States, even some of those who were vaccinated against the infectious illness got sick, health officials report.
A study released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked an ongoing outbreak of mumps, largely confined to an orthodox Hasidic Jewish group. The outbreak started among boys attending a religious summer camp in New York State and continued when the youngsters returned to their homes in New York and New Jersey. Currently some 1,521 cases have been reported, with more individuals coming down with the disease.
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The mumps virus can cause swelling and pain in the salivary glands, giving people so-called "chipmunk cheeks," as well as fever, headache, sore throat and pain when swallowing. Other symptoms include loss of appetite, vomiting and tired, achy muscles.
Symptoms can last for up to 10 days, and the disease can be spread one to two days before symptoms start and for up to nine days after symptoms appear. It can take up to 25 days after exposure to mumps before symptoms appear.
Mumps is a self-limiting disease with no specific treatment. It is best treated with bed rest and over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen to reduce fever, according to the CDC.
"The outbreak has been ongoing since the end of June," said study co-author and CDC epidemiologist Kathleen Gallagher. "Ninety-seven percent of cases are among this Jewish community."
The outbreak has probably been confined to this group because they have less contact with the wider community, Gallagher noted.
She said the outbreak started in a summer boy's camp. "The original [patient] case had traveled to Great Britain, where they are having, and have been having, an ongoing outbreak of mumps for a while now," she said.
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