Mumps Outbreak In Massachusetts, Health Officials Warn

By Katie Lannan, State House News Service

State officials on Friday alerted health care providers and local boards of health to a cluster of measles cases among Latino adults in Chelsea, Boston and Revere. Twelve mumps cases have been reported since the end of March, according to the state Department of Public Health, which said the outbreak "may represent a change in the epidemiology of mumps in Massachusetts."

To date, most confirmed and probable mumps cases in Massachusetts have been among college students and others linked to colleges and universities, according to the DPH, while the 12 new cases are among adults with "no known connection to higher education." The people involved are adults ranging in age from 20 to 41 who presented symptoms between March 24 and May 31, the DPH said.

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All are Latino and include members of the Colombian, Dominican, Guatemalan and Salvadoran communities. None are known to have traveled internationally and most are believed to be unvaccinated against mumps.

The mumps virus can be spread within three to six feet when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and the incubation period can range from 12 to 25 days, according to the DPH. The DPH and local health departments are investigating and instituting isolation and quarantine measures to control the spread of the illness, which health officials say is passed on "by droplets among people in close contact." Health officials say they will be reaching out to the state's Latino communities to increase awareness and encourage vaccination.