Illinois Mumps Update: Cases Linked to Heartland Community College

WGILNewsIcon200pxBLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) — Health authorities in central Illinois say 16 cases of mumps have been confirmed in McLean County, including four linked to Heartland Community College.

The county health department is sending letters to students, faculty and staff who may have had contact with those infected.

The Illinois Department of Public Health says there are more than 180 cases statewide. Around 130 of them are at the University of Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign campus. Several cases have been reported at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Knox County Health Department Director of Health Protection Sam Jarvis told WGIL yesterday, that the state has not pinpointed the source of the outbreak.

Locally, Knox and Monmouth Colleges both require vaccination records before students can attend, however Carl Sandburg College does not.

Monmouth College Dean of Students Jacquelyn Condon says they are in works with the Warren County Health Department to be able to react if a student is infected.

Mumps is no longer common in the U.S. The number of cases ranges from a couple hundred to a couple thousand a year.

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine prevents most, but not all, cases.

Symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness and swollen salivary glands under the ears.

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