The University of Hawaii notified more than 23,000 students, faculty and staff Thursday of the first three cases of mumps on its Manoa campus.
UH said it is working with the state Department of Health to identify individuals who may have been in contact with the infected students and are at high risk for the contagious virus that causes flu-like symptoms and is spread by coughing, sneezing and touching infected items.
The state is facing a “relentless” rise in mumps cases, with 500 cases confirmed to date this year, an increase of more than 100 in less than a month.
| EXTRA PRECAUTIONS
The Health Department recommends that people who live or work in crowded areas receive an extra dose of mumps vaccine. It’s specifically recommended for individuals born after 1956:
>> If they had two doses of the vaccine 10 or more years ago.
>> If they had one dose of the vaccine five or more years ago.
>> If they are not sure whether they’ve had the disease or mumps vaccinations.
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The department is urging people who live or work in crowded conditions — within 3 feet of others — to get an extra mumps vaccination. University students are especially vulnerable, said state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park, adding that college students should consider immediately getting an extra dose.
“I actually was kind of surprised that we haven’t seen university students sooner. We know this virus spreads faster — it spreads more effectively — if you’re in crowded situations. University students really epitomize that,” she said. “They are that target age group that comprise most of our cases. It’s a good reminder to folks that if the outbreak continues … eventually it hits all segments of the community, especially in Hawaii where we all tend to say — tongue and cheek — we have two degrees of separation together.”
The median age of mumps victims is around 20 years, according to DOH statistics.
The Health Department has seen the same outbreak on the neighbor islands. Park said she is concerned that there are actually more cases than are being reported.
“Those are 500 cases that we know of. From our perspective, we know there are probably many more out there,” she said. “We’re at the point now where the focus really needs to be the outbreak (vaccine).”
The DOH said there have been a dozen reports of complications that include hearing loss or swelling of testes, which could lead to issues with infertility. Before vaccines, mumps was the single most common cause of viral meningitis, though the department has not seen anyone with the condition due to the disease, Park said.
“It’s relentless, and it’s just going on and on,” she said. “University students are a real concern. If it gets a hold in a university, especially in a dorm, it can go much faster, and we may see spikes then.”
