Grundy County Health Department, along with all health departments throughout the state, have disease surveillance systems in place to identify illnesses like the mumps. Medical providers are required to report the diagnosis or suspicion of mumps cases (along with other diseases) to the county health department for investigation.
Mumps
is a viral illness. The symptoms of mumps are: body aches, loss of appetite,
fatigue, headache, low grade fever and parotitis. Parotitis is an inflammation
of one or both of the major salivary (parotid) glands located on either side of
the face. Visit the CDC website for more information about mumps: www.cdc.gov/mumps/.
Vaccination
is the best way to prevent mumps, but it is only effective prior to exposure.
People born before 1957 are considered immune to the illness because of the
prevalence of the disease in the childhood population prior to that year. Adults
born after 1957 should have two doses of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) to be
fully immunized if they do not have evidence of immunity, possibly gained by
having contracted mumps as a child.
Missouri
law requires children to have two MMR vaccinations before attending school.
Please
check with the Grundy County Health Department or your physician if you are not
adequately immunized. If you have symptoms of the mumps, see your physician for
evaluation.