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For Immediate Release Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Lori Maldonado
Public Relations Specialist
(303) 692-2028 - Office
(303) 921-8598 - Cell
Mumps Case Confirmed in Colorado in Connection with
U.S. Outbreak
DENVER - A Colorado mumps case, reported to the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment and the Tri-County Health
Department as part of the recent increased surveillance throughout the
United States, has tested positive for the disease.
Dr. Ned Calonge, the state’s chief medical officer who
is based at the Department of Public Health and Environment, said the
case involves a 45-year-old woman from Douglas County.
Calonge said, “This one case does not indicate we have a
mumps outbreak in Colorado. But, it is an important warning signal for
parents, who should make certain their children are fully immunized
against all childhood diseases, including mumps.”
According to the Tri-County Health Department, which
serves Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties, the woman, who became ill
on April 14, had recently made two car trips to Iowa where she was
visiting a sick family member who did not have mumps. The Douglas County
resident stayed home from work for the recommended nine days after she
became ill. She was not hospitalized; has not experienced any
complications; and her physician has cleared her to return to work.
The case is the first to test positive out of 25 suspect
cases in Colorado reported to the Department of Public Health and
Environment as part of the increased statewide surveillance resulting
from the mumps outbreak that began in Iowa. That outbreak since has
spread to surrounding states, including Colorado’s bordering states of
Nebraska and Kansas. The remaining 24 suspect cases currently are
undergoing confirmatory testing.
Colorado normally has three-to-four cases of mumps each
year. The state had six cases in 2005 and has had only three cases so
far this year, including the newly confirmed case.
Dr. Richard Vogt, the Tri-County Health Department
director, said, “People sometimes say 'why bother' when it comes to
immunizations, feeling that many diseases are rare or in the past.
Occasionally, there are still outbreaks, and this is a prime example of
why we urge people to stay current with all vaccinations.
"Parents should review their child's records and then
contact their doctor or make an appointment at one of the public health
clinics in the state.”
Calonge said, “Because vaccines have been so successful over the past
several decades in practically eliminating childhood disease outbreaks
in the United States, some younger parents have not experienced such
diseases and have concluded that immunizations aren’t necessary. “While
mumps is perhaps not as serious a disease as say, measles, this
multi-state outbreak in the Midwest is a strong reminder that these
diseases are still around and that it is important for Colorado’s
children to be fully immunized by the appropriate age to protect them
against the childhood diseases that can make them very ill or even can
be life threatening.”
According to the chief medical officer, Colorado
recommends that the state’s children have their first measles, mumps and
rubella immunization between the ages of 12-24 months and the second
between the ages of 4-6. The immunizations can be obtained from private
physicians, health care clinics and organizations and from local health
departments and county public health nursing services across Colorado.
Calonge also said that teenagers and college students
should have had two measles, mumps and rubella shots. If they have not
had them, they should get them now, the chief medical officer explained.
According to Calonge, persons born before 1957, when
this vaccine became widely available, probably have been exposed to
mumps and, as a result, are likely to be immune to the disease. However
if they didn’t have the mumps or don’t know if they had the disease,
immunizations may be recommended if Colorado actually experiences a
mumps outbreak.
“There is no evidence that Colorado is involved in the
multi-state outbreak, at least not yet,” Calonge said. “It’s difficult
to predict, at this time, whether we will be significantly impacted or
not. If we do experience an outbreak, it is likely we will recommend
vaccination for higher risk persons, such as teachers and college
professors who are more likely to be exposed to children and young
adults who may contract the mumps. But, until then, our recommendations
are aimed at assuring that Coloradans are up-to-date with our usual
vaccine recommendations.”
The incubation period for mumps is 16-18 days from
exposure to onset of symptoms, which include swelling of the salivary
glands in the face or neck; muscle pain; loss of appetite; tiredness,
headache and fever. The actual illness lasts from 3-to-10 days.
According to Calonge, if it is suspected that a family
member may have the mumps, the doctor’s office should be telephoned in
advance to make arrangements for arrival so that an entire waiting room
is not exposed.
Good hygiene, including thorough and regular hand washing, is a good
protection against this and other diseases, he said. Mumps can be spread
through coughing and sneezing, but also through hand-to-hand contact and
through handling contaminated surfaces.
The chief medical officer said most cases of mumps are
mild although there are concerns about possible complications in a small
number of the cases. These complications can include deafness;
inflammation of the testicles. ovaries, breasts or pancreas;
meningitis/encephalitis; or miscarriages.
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