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Harvard mumps count up to 40; could commencement be affected?

By adamg on Tue, 04/26/2016 - 6:26am

The Crimson reports, quotes the head of health services as saying he's more concerned than ever now, and that he blames irresponsible students for the continuing spread.

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By theszak on Tue, 04/26/2016 - 6:47am.

Q: I've been told that I need to stay away from people while I'm sick with mumps. What does that mean and why does it matter?
http://www.cdc.gov/mumps/outbreaks/outbreak-patient-qa.html

A: When you have mumps, you should avoid prolonged, close contact with other people until at least five days after your salivary glands begin to swell because you are contagious during this time.

The time it takes for symptoms to appear after a person is exposed to the virus can range from 12 to 25 days.

You should not go to work or school.

You should stay home when you are sick with mumps and limit contact with the people you live with; for example, sleep in a separate room by yourself if you can.

Staying home while sick with mumps is an important way to avoid spreading the virus to other people.

People who are infected with mumps don’t get sick right away—it can take 2 to 4 weeks for them to show signs of infection.

Q: What else should I do to prevent mumps from spreading?

A: In addition to staying away from others when you have mumps, you can help prevent the virus from spreading by

. Covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and put your used tissue in the trash can. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands.

. Washing your hands often with soap and water.
. Avoiding sharing drinks or eating utensils.
. Disinfecting frequently touched surfaces, such as toys, doorknobs, tables, counters.
http://www.cdc.gov/mumps/outbreaks/outbreak-patient-qa.html

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By perruptor on Tue, 04/26/2016 - 7:34am.

Incoming freshmen are required to have received the MMRV vaccination, a vaccine commonly used to prevent the incidence of mumps.

Is the vaccine ineffective, or are anti-vax parents getting false vaccination certificates for their kids, or what?

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By adamg on Tue, 04/26/2016 - 7:39am.

Doctors said it seemed to be a case of the vaccine being less than 100% effective.

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By perruptor on Tue, 04/26/2016 - 7:47am.

Has the mumps virus mutated to a more resistant form, or did the company making the vaccine not make it correctly? If neither of those, how did the disease become "rare"?

I ask, because UHub is my go-to source for medical information ...

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By KSquared on Tue, 04/26/2016 - 8:39am.

Even if a vaccine is only 85% effective (estimates for how effective the mumps component is), that will still really cut down on overall disease and disease transmission.

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By BikerGeek on Tue, 04/26/2016 - 10:35am.

The immunity just doesn't "take" in some percentage of vaccinated people, for whatever reason. Those people, along with people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons (e.g. because they're allergic to the vaccine components), are protected by "herd immunity". Herd immunity occurs when a large enough number of people are vaccinated, that even if one of them becomes ill, the disease cannot spread to that person's neighbors.
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/pages/communityimmunity.aspx

With the increasing popularity of the anti-vax movement, vaccination rates in some communities have now dropped below herd-immunity levels. This is particularly problematic in some areas of California where there are communities encompassing a large percentage of people who believe various kinds of quackery, pseudoscience, and other assorted woo.

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By mplo on Tue, 04/26/2016 - 12:10pm.

Doctors said it seemed to be a case of the vaccine being less than 100% effective.

There's no guarantee that a person won't come down with Mumps if s/he has received the vaccine, but, in the event that s/he does get the mumps, s/he won't get as bad a case of it.

I remember having the mumps when I was in nursery school, back in the mid-1950's, well before the vaccine even came out....on both sides at once, and it hurt like hell. I was out of school for about a week or so, but I recovered, and developed an immunity to it.

Getting mumps during adolescence or older, however, is much more risky.

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By LadyKatey on Tue, 04/26/2016 - 7:05pm.

Or maybe even less:
"Two doses of the vaccine are 88% (range: 66-95%) effective at preventing mumps; one dose is 78% (range: 49%−92%) effective."
http://www.cdc.gov/mumps/vaccination.html

But better than the Whooping Cough vaccine which is only something like 50% effective!

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