New York is the center of the latest outbreak of mumps in the United States. Beginning in August 2009, the illness has also spread to New Jersey and to Canada. The original case had traveled to the United Kingdom where a mumps outbreak has been occurring for sometime. Fox New York reports up to 600 verified and suspected cases are involved in the current outbreak which is centered around an Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. 

63% of the cases studied by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for a November report had received the correct vaccination(s). The New York City Department of Health reports that the mumps vaccine is anywhere from 76-95% effective. They state that the vaccine may not protect everyone, but it reduces the number of people catching the disease and the risks of exposure in the community.

Mumps is a contagious viral illness. It is oftenconsidered a childhood illness. A vaccine exists and is routinely given in the United States and in New York. It consists of two doses, one at age 1 and the other before the child enters kindergarten.

Mumps is usually a mild illness, characterized by fever, headache, fatigue and loss of appetite. Its defining symptom is the swelling of the cheeks and jaw that appears. The salivary glands on one or both sides of the face near the ears become very tender and swollen. Symptoms appear between 12 and 25 days after infection.

In some cases, complications can occur. In both male and female patients who have reached puberty, inflammation can affect the developing organs. In men, the inflammation of the testis can cause infertility. In women, the ovaries or the breasts can be affected.

Encephalitis can occur in a few cases, and 1% of these cases are fatal. Hearing loss can also be a complication of a mumps infection in children, with 1 in 20,000 being so affected.

Hundreds of children in New York and New Jersey reportedly have the mumps, although 63 percent of them were vaccinated in early childhood. The mumps vaccine is not 100 percent affective, furthermore Dr. Barbara Montana medical director of the Communicable Disease Service at the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services adds, “The antibodies one produces from the vaccine can wane with time.” [Nurse.com] Somewhere from 5 to 24 percent of those vaccinated are not protected. Often the mumps is brought into America from other countries, and it spreads to those few who are unprotected or unvaccinated.

The first incidence in this outbreak was reported in June 2009. The Centers for Disease control said the 11-year-old boy came down with the mumps at a Jewish camp in Sullivan County, New York, shortly after having visited the United Kingdom. 25 children and staff at the camp were infected. As campers returned home, most of them to the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, they brought the illness with them. By the end of October 79 more people were infected with mumps. There were also 27 new cases in Rockland County (just outside of Sullivan) and 67 more cases in New Jersey. Many travelled to Quebec, Canada, for a religious gathering and soon after 15 cases of the mumps were reported there.

The total number of cases as of October was 179, but the outbreak is not over. Health care providers in NY and NJ are still seeing an increased numbers of mumps cases. Despite the fact that vaccination is not 100 percent protection from the mumps, it is the best way to avoid getting the mumps. Those who have had the vaccination and had the unlikely misfortune of also contracting the mumps later in life, still have less of a risk of developing health complications associated with the mumps [Nurse.com]. The MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccination is usually given from age 12 to 15 months with boosters at age 4 to 6 years, and is recommended to anyone before they travel outside of the U.S.

Mumps occurs when one is infected by the paramyxovirus causing swelling in the parotid glands in the neck/throat. Symptoms include painful swelling of one or both sides of the face, fever, fatigue, headache, sore throat, and painful chewing or swallowing. It is highly contagious, spreading from person to person through infected saliva. Sneezing, coughing, or even sharing utensils can 

Because it is a virus, mumps can't be treated with antibiotics. The patient is forced to let the virus run it's course until they feel well again. Complications of mumps can be serious, like pancreatitis, encephalitis, meningitis, and hearing loss to name a few. Mumps can affect the central nervous system, pancreas, and testes. Most mumps patients recover entirely, even those whose organs are affected, and afterwards they have a life-long immunity to the disease. If you suspect you or your child has the mumps, see you doctor immediately.