There's a Mumps Outbreak at UW (Stay Home If You're Sick, People)

Keep your germs at home! UW Libraries

It’s spring! The world is blooming! There’s sun again (kind of)! And seemingly everyone is still getting sick.

The University of Washington, however, is dealing with a bit more than the common cold. At least 20 people associated with the Seattle campus have caught the mumps and the infection is “concentrated in the Greek system,” the UW Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases told The Seattle Times. UW advises anyone who is infected to stay home.

Statewide, 664 cases of mumps have been reported since October, according to the state Department of Health (DOH). That far surpasses the 53 cases in 2007, the previous high this decade. The last time the state saw such high numbers was 1977, said David Johnson of [the Department of Health]. …

All 20 infected people associated with the UW had been immunized, according to a university spokesman. The mumps vaccine is about 88 percent effective, on average, according to the CDC.

The mumps is contagious, and spreads through saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose, or throat, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention notes. Symptoms include fever, headaches, puffy cheeks, and the swelling of the jaw and salivary glands. In adults, it can even result in swelling of the brain and testicles, which can lead to sterility, among other complications.

The best way to avoid catching the mumps: getting vaccinated. Here’s where you can go do it.

PSA: Sicklings, please do us—and yourselves!—a favor and STAY HOME!