SACRAMENTO – State Public Health Officer Dr. Mark Horton today recommended immunization against mumps to prevent the current outbreak of the disease in the Midwest from spreading to California. College students, summer camp staff and campers, overseas travelers and health care workers should ensure they have received two doses of mumps vaccine because they are most at risk for getting mumps.

"Prevention is the key since there is no specific treatment for mumps," Horton said. "People should review their immunization records or contact their health care providers to determine if they have received two doses. Since early detection can also slow spread of the disease, local health departments have alerted colleges, schools and doctors to be on the lookout for mumps and increased their monitoring and laboratory testing in response to the Midwest outbreak. "

So far there have been four laboratory-confirmed mumps cases in California residents in 2006, similar to the numbers of confirmed cases in prior years.

As of June 6, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported more than 4,400 cases of mumps in the Midwest so far this year, many in college students. Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri and South Dakota have all been affected.

Children should get their first dose of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine after their first birthday. A second dose may be given at least four weeks later, but is often given before the child enters kindergarten. Most California school children born after 1987 have already received two doses of MMR vaccine so they will not need additional doses.

"We want school officials and doctors to contact local health authorities immediately about suspected cases without waiting for laboratory confirmation," Horton said. "Californians returning from the Midwest, including college students home on summer break, and travelers returning from college graduation ceremonies or other events should also watch for mumps symptoms."

Before heading off for summer camp, both campers and camp staff should ensure they have received two doses of MMR vaccine because two doses of MMR protect about 90 percent of people against mumps. One dose of MMR protects about 80 percent of people against the disease so a second dose will provide better protection. Before returning to school in the fall, college students should ensure that they have received two doses of MMR vaccine.

Soccer fans heading to the soccer World Cup already underway in Germany and others making summer trips abroad should ensure their shots are updated before departure. Californians are recommended to have had two doses of MMR or other evidence of immunity before traveling outside the United States. Germany is currently reporting an outbreak of measles so two doses of MMR will protect against both measles and mumps.

The most common symptoms of mumps are fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite, which also may be accompanied by swollen salivary glands above the angle of the jaw or beneath the jaw. Anyone who develops these symptoms should contact their health care provider immediately and stay home from school or work to prevent further spread of disease.

Although mumps rarely results in death, complications can be severe, including inflammation of the brain or its surrounding tissue (encephalitis or meningitis) or inflammation of the breasts, ovaries or testicles, which can cause male infertility. Other infrequent complications include miscarriages early in pregnancy and hearing loss.

Health care workers should also be vaccinated with MMR. If health care workers cannot provide proof of their immunity to mumps, those born during or after 1957 should receive two doses of MMR vaccine and those born before 1957 should consider receiving at least one dose.

For more information about immunization requirements and vaccine-preventable diseases, contact your physician or local health department immunization program or go to www.GetImmunizedCa.org. Local health departments provide low-cost or free immunizations for children without health insurance.

Additional information about the mumps outbreak is available from the CDC (www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm55d518a1.htm) and Iowa Department of Public Health (www.idph.state.ia.us/adper/mumps.asp).

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