ATLANTA, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A mumps outbreak that began in a summer camp has grown to 1,521 cases in New York City, two upstate New York counties and New Jersey, health officials say.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, released Thursday, said the cases are almost exclusively among members of tradition-observant Jewish communities, with fewer than 3 percent of cases occurring outside those communities.
However, many of the cases are occurring in school-age children, particularly boys, who have been vaccinated with one or two doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, though cases have also occurred in people who are unvaccinated or who have received one dose of the vaccine. It is recommended that children receive a measles-mumps-rubella vaccine on or after their first birthday, followed by a second dose at 4-6 years of age.
"Maintaining high immunization coverage with the recommended doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine remains the most effective means of preventing outbreaks and in limiting the size of outbreaks when they do occur," the report says. "Other things people can do to help prevent the spread of mumps and other infections include washing hands well and often with soap, and teaching children to wash their hands too, not sharing eating utensils, and cleaning surfaces that are frequently touched such as toys, doorknobs, tables, counters, etc., regularly with soap and water or with cleaning wipes."
