Penn State’s University Health Services (UHS) said on Monday that it has investigated 38 ‘probable or confirmed’ mumps cases at the University Park campus. Of those 38 cases, 17 have been confirmed by lab tests. The first confirmed mumps case was reported at University Park on Jan. 29.
People are considered contagious three days before symptoms began until five days after the start of symptoms. Students should not engage in “activities where drinks are shared or where the virus can be passed through saliva exposure,” according to the press release from UHS.
Also, students that have not already done so are advised to request a copy of their immunization records from their health care provider and fax it to UHS at 814-865-9309. Those without two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine have been told to schedule an appointment with UHS as soon as possible.
During a mumps outbreak, people identified as a contact of a probable or confirmed case of mumps who do not have proof of immunity will be excluded from campus for 26 days after the last possible date of exposure.
Two doses of the MMR vaccine generally provide immunity from the mumps, but it does not guarantee protection. According to the university, most of the cases identified are in students who received the two doses of the MMR vaccine.
According to the UHS website, all incoming students are required to provide proof of MMR vaccination before arriving on campus. Penn State spokesman Justin McDaniel said earlier this month that beginning last fall, the university moved away from an online self-reporting system to a more rigorous process that requires verification from a medical provider.
He said the new process applies to all incoming students and students living in on-campus housing. Students who failed to submit immunization records had a hold placed on their ability to register for spring 2017 classes.
But, McDaniel explained there are students who came to Penn State under the old self-reporting system.
‘Some upper-class students living off campus entered the University under the prior system,’ he said. ‘University Health Services is advising students to receive the MMR vaccine now if they have not already done so.’
He added at the time that cases were being identified in students who had received the recommended dosage and noted that the University of Illinois experienced the same during an outbreak in 2015-16, when the Centers for Disease Control found that 73 percent of mumps cases there were in students who had received the vaccine.
Penn State has been in contact with the CDC and Pennsylvania Department of Health since the first outbreak.
