Two Maine colleges have experienced an outbreak of mumps this fall. The Maine Center for Disease Control says colleges across the U.S. are seeing an uptick in mumps cases.
Bowdoin College in Brunswick has three current confirmed cases of the highly contagious viral disease. Bates College in Lewiston had eight cases of mumps since early October, but all students have recovered.
Spokesmen for both colleges say it has been years since they’ve had a case of mumps. State epidemiologist Dr. Siiri Bennett says there do tend to be sporadic outbreaks of the disease.
“I don’t know why this particular year we might be seeing it more than others, but once you get it, it does tend to spread around a little bit, just because it is so hard to spot initially,” she says.
Bennett says symptoms of mumps, such as fever muscle aches, and swelling, typically appear a couple weeks after infection.
The Maine CDC has worked with both Bates and Bowdoin to contain the outbreak. The best way to prevent mumps, says Bennett, is to get fully vaccinated, wash hands frequently and don’t share food, beverages or utensils.
