The recent outbreak of mumps at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has prompted health officials to recommend a re-vaccination of students to abate the spread of the virus.
Melaney Arnold, spokeswoman of The Illinois Department of Public Health, shared that for this year IDPH has recorded 87 mumps cases for the entire state. From only 50 cases last week, the number of students enrolled at the University who were infected has gone up to 69.
The Director of the University's McKinley Health Center, Dr. Robert Palinkas, explained that students continued to be infected during the spring, with 41,000 enrolled during the season. The summer sessions also had a total of 12,000 enrollees. It is expected that the statistics will still increase in the succeeding days, more so that the spring semester will start by August 24th.
The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD), the McKinley Health Center and the state health department, have all recommend that the students get a booster shot of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine even if they have received one or two immunizations before. The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also prescribed that the first dose of the MMR should be given between the age of 12 and 18 months, while the second shot should be between 4 to 6 years old.
IDPH Director Nirav D. Shah says that, "While most cases on campus have already received two doses of MMR, a third dose may help control the outbreak. Although the vaccine against mumps is extremely effective, it is not perfect. This is why it is important for those who can be vaccinated, to take this extra step and potentially help protect those around them."
This Thursday and Friday, a two-day MMR vaccine clinic will be open to the faculty, students and staff who are scheduled to get vaccinated at the ARC Building. The clinic will serve from 9am to 3pm. Students who will present a valid ID card will be entitled to the vaccine for free, while the staff and faculty will be provided with the shot by the CUPHD at no cost.
