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COURTESY PIXABAY
Many people think of the mumps as merely a children’s disease, and there’s a real fear that folks won’t take the warning seriously, but complications can be serious, including encephalitis, meningitis and deafness, a state health official said last week.
The state Department of Health confirmed today two more cases of mumps in the islands, bringing the year’s total to 16.
Further reading
The new tally is the highest number of cases recorded in at least a decade.
Janice Okubo, DOH spokeswoman, said the two cases do not appear to be related to the two clusters of cases the Health Department reported Friday. In announcing the two clusters of cases, health officials said more people are likely to come down with the contagious disease in coming weeks.
Okubo said one imported case of mumps was also confirmed this week, but that case is not included in the state total for Hawaii residents.
Last year Hawaii had 10 cases of mumps. Before that, the most for any single year going back to 2007 was five.
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