(Milford)– A Mumps outbreak continues to spread and Mary Dunleavy of Dickinson County Public Health says there are now two suspected cases of it in Dickinson county. She says they had not been confirmed yet as of Monday.
Meanwhile, there is one confirmed case just across the border, in a 17-year-old boy in Jackson county, Minnesota.
Dunleavy recommends everyone atleast consider getting the Mumps vaccine. She’s recommending everyone check their immunization records.
She highly urges anyone exhibiting symptoms of the mumps to stay at home and get to the doctor. She says the disease is HIGHLY contagious.
Symptoms include swollen salivary glands, low-grade fever and headache. Mumps can cause complications such as loss of hearing and/or meningitis.
Dunleavy says what makes the disease so contagious is the fact that symptoms don’t appear until 12 to 25 days after someone has been infected…and a person can infect someone from three days before they actually exhibit symptoms to four days after.
Dunleavy says Dickinson County Public Health offers Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine for 60-dollars. Immunization clinics are held every Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. by appointment. Appointments can also be scheduled for other times of the week by calling 336-2682. A blood test for the Mumps antibody is available for 69-dollars through the laboratory at Lakes Regional Healthcare.
365 cases of Mumps have been reported in Iowa since January.
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