2010-03-16 10:02:46 - Epidemic Hazard - USA EDIS CODE: EH-20100316-25348-USA
Date & Time: 2010-03-16 10:02:46 [UTC]
Area: USA, State of New York, , Plattsburgh Number of Infected person(s): 6
Not confirmed information! Description: An outbreak of the mumps has hit Plattsburgh State. Three cases of students with mumps have been confirmed so far, with three more pending. As a result, more than 200 students may not be able to return to campus unless they are fully vaccinated. "What we are trying to do is avert a mumps epidemic and avert a fourth case of the mumps," said Dr. Kathleen Camelo, director of the Center for Student Health and Psychological Services. Mumps is a viral disease characterized by fever, headache, muscle weakness, stiff neck, loss of appetite, swelling and tenderness of one or more of the salivary glands located along the angle of the jaw and inside the mouth. Plattsburgh State learned March 8 that two students tested positive for mumps. On March 12, the university learned of a third confirmed case just as students were leaving for spring break. The suspected cases must be isolated for five days.
"We take them out of the population," Camelo said. College officials issued an e-mail to students, faculty and staff notifying them of the three cases, which constitutes an outbreak. Camelo's office then investigated which students fell under high-risk categories, either by not receiving a vaccination due to a religious or medical exemption or those who received only one dose. "This morning we went on a telephone campaign," Camelo said Monday. Plattsburgh State contacted about 250 students who were at risk, roughly 31 of whom have never been vaccinated for mumps. "The New York State Health Department recommends that students who have not received two mumps vaccinations be excluded from the campus until they can provide information documenting vaccination or get vaccinated," Camelo said. Students who fail to receive a vaccination could be excluded from campus 26 days after the last confirmed case of mumps. Camelo said an outbreak was rare. "In my 16 years here, I have never been in an outbreak situation." There have been recent mumps' outbreaks in Canada and New York City, said Darwyna Facteau, supervising public-health nurse from the Health Services Unit of the Clinton County Health Department. She said the state Health Department is working to determine the origin of the current mumps outbreak at Plattsburgh State, which occurred throughout the campus and not a central location.
"We have notified all providers in the community that there have been some cases and told the hospital to watch for signs," Facteau said. She didn't think people needed to stay away from campus since it is a respiratory illness and is spread through close contact. The disease is transmitted by direct contact with saliva and discharges from the nose and throat of infected individuals. "It helps immensely that the students are on spring break," Facteau said. The university continues to institute hygiene practices on campus that decrease the chances of H1N1 spreading, which would also be employed for mumps. "We are in the process of finalizing clinics on campus," Camelo said. "If people come to our center we will vaccinate them." Clinton County Health Department is holding a free clinic for staff and students who have received only one mumps or MMR vaccination or who have never received any vaccination on Wednesday.
The name of Hazard: Mumps
Species: Human
Status: Confirmed
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Publicado por
NEWS
