Mumps Outbreak Update 2015: Experts Urge Parents to Get Their Kids Vaccinated

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A recent mumps outbreak in the University of Illinois has worried health officials as the infection may not be contained due to lack of initiative from parents to get their children vaccinated. With the impending start of school in late August, experts have no choice but to urge and prompt parents to have their kids revaccinated.

The US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control defines mumps as a contagious illness caused by a virus and characterized by swelling of the jaw and cheeks due to inflammation of the salivary glands. Children often experience fever, headache, muscle aches and loss of appetite whenever they are infected, and the recuperation period lasts for about 12 to 25 days.

87 mumps cases have already been reported by the Illinois Department of Public Health, and spokesperson Melaney Arnold has stated that 69 of these cases have came from the Urbana-Champaign campus, The Chicago Tribune writes.

Dr. Robert Palinkas, the director of McKinley Health Center in the University of Illinois, said students are continuously being infected with the virus over the school's summer sessions. This is the reason why the state health department and the public health department have all recommended that each student should get a booster for MMR or measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

CBS Local News adds that Dr. Nirav D. Shah of the Illinois Department of Public Health said that even though most of the reported cases involved kids who already received two doses of MMR, they are still getting infected thus a public recommendation of a third MMR dose has been announced.

Experts advise that on top of the booster shot, good health habits and proper hygiene must be practiced at all times to reduce spreading the disease. Frequent hand washing with soap and water, not letting other kids use their dinner utensils and cups, and minimizing contact with the infected kids can help stop the outbreak.

However, not all parents are convinced that vaccination is the key.

In related news, Huffington Post reports that due to the anti-vaccination sentiments and fear that immunization can lead to autism, vaccination rates have extremely decreased in some areas of the US. Fortunately, one study from the University of Illinois and University of California has discovered that showing parents photos and testimonies of how infectious diseases affect people could be the answer to the skepticism of parents.

Lead author and doctoral student Derek Powell said that the study may be able to convince more parents about getting their kids vaccinated and putting everyone at ease that possible outbreaks can be prevented.