Kaiser High parents alerted to mumps case

The state has confirmed the first case of the mumps at Kaiser High School.

A student infected with the contagious disease — which causes flu-like symptoms and is spread by coughing, sneezing, talking and touching infected items — attended school for at least one day, Kaiser’s principal Justin Mew wrote in a Dec. 1 letter to parents and employees of the school, which has 1,141 students.

“We are addressing this as a universal precaution and are advising everyone to be alert to this situation,” Mew said. “The health and safety of our students and staff are of utmost importance.”

The Department of Health is investigating close contacts of the student, according to a memo from Ronald Balajadia, Immunization Branch chief, to principal Mew. Contacts born after 1957, when the virus was prevalent, who didn’t get the recommended vaccinations (two doses for students and one dose for adults) must be excluded from school from Dec. 1 to Dec. 14 to prevent the spread of the virus, which can cause fever, head and muscle aches and swollen salivary glands, he said.

They may return to school immediately after being vaccinated unless exhibiting symptoms, he added.

The Health Department is grappling with the spike in cases. There was recently up to a two-week delay in mumps testing because of climate control problems at the state laboratory, said DOH spokeswoman Janice Okubo.

“They’ve since gotten those under control,” Okubo said, adding that the turnaround for mumps testing is back to two to three business days. “We do recommend people who may have mumps to contact their physicians and stay at home if they’re sick.” The department is recommending adolescents (aged 10-19 years) and adults (born in 1957 or later) get an extra dose of the vaccine during the outbreak regardless of previous vaccination or documentation of immunity to the disease.

Meanwhile, Bonnie Bise, spokeswoman for the Halekulani hotel, acknowledged that the virus has been confirmed in the Halekulani workplace, though she wouldn’t provide further details.

“The health and wellbeing of our staff is of the utmost importance. Our management and human resources teams are working closely with the (DOH) in this matter, and have taken all necessary precautions,” she said.

As of Nov. 30, the disease has been confirmed in 636 people — including those who have been vaccinated. Most of them have been in Honolulu, which had 513 cases, followed by Hawaii island with 72, Kauai with 48 and Maui with three. Nearly 60 percent of cases have been in adults. There may be significantly more unconfirmed cases.

The DOH has received 18 reports of complications that include hearing loss and swelling of testes, which could lead to infertility. Before vaccines, mumps was the single most common cause of viral meningitis.

The department is urging patients suspected of having or diagnosed with mumps to stay home for nine days after the start of swollen salivary glands.