Yikes! Mumps arrive in region
The mumps are here, and if the disease spreads, it could disrupt the school year for unvaccinated children.
The Coeur d’Alene School District sent a memo to families Friday, saying Panhandle Health District is reporting one confirmed case of mumps in North Idaho and there is a high likelihood of an outbreak in the near future.
“In the event of two or more confirmed cases in any one building — which classifies as an official outbreak — students who do not have proof of an MMR vaccination, even if they have a signed exemption, will be excluded from the affected school to protect our students and staff,” the memo said.
Under Idaho Code, exclusions from school would last 26 days from the onset of the last confirmed case of the disease.
The single confirmed case of mumps in North Idaho is in Kootenai County, in a person over 50 years old, said Panhandle Health District spokeswoman Melanie Collett.
A mumps outbreak affecting nearby Spokane County has grown to 205 confirmed cases, mostly in people 20 and younger.
“No local spread has been identified and the one case is no longer contagious,” Collett said.
Mumps is caused by a highly contagious virus. Symptoms typically include a few days of fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite, followed by swollen salivary glands. Mumps is often transmitted by people who are in close contact with one another, such as those living in the same house or dorm.
“There is no treatment for mumps,” Collett said. “There are only ways to treat the symptoms. It can be a very serious disease and getting the vaccination is the best method of protection.”
Coeur d’Alene Superintendent Matt Handelman said in the case of an outbreak, exclusions of unvaccinated students would be determined by a school-by-school assessment. He said the district put out the notification as early as it could to give families and staff time to figure out if they are up to date on their vaccinations and if they need to get them.
Claudia Rumold has a child at Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities and said she was glad the district put out the information it did.
“Information gives people options,” she said. “Some people might not be able to vaccinate — either they don’t want to or they have immune deficiencies. More information is good for them; they can get their kid out of there and avoid early exposure.”
Post Falls School District said it has not sent any notifications to families, but its nursing staff is aware of the situation and is on the lookout for any signs or symptoms. They’re also getting updates on which students are up to date on vaccinations.
Lisa Sexton, assistant superintendent of Lakeland School District, said her district is in the same boat as the Post Falls district.
“Every time a parent comes in to exempt their child from vaccinations, it’s the first thing we tell them that if there’s an outbreak, their child won’t be able to come to school,” she said. ”We want to minimize the spread by not having people that could contract the disease at school; we don’t want to perpetuate it. We want to contain it as quickly as possible to get kids back at school.”
Sexton also said she has been seeing more and more families choosing not to vaccinate their kids.
Tomas Stone, another Sorensen parent, said not letting unvaccinated kids into school seems “a little forceful.”
“I’m not particularly fond of vaccinations. We opted out of getting some of them,” he said. “I’d say it’s a little extreme forcing people to do stuff they may not want to do. If a kid isn’t vaccinated, parents should watch and monitor them.”
Melissa Dodge, who has two kids at Sorensen, noted vaccinations are a hot topic. She said people have the right to vaccinate or not vaccinate their kids.
“Mine are vaccinated, and nobody wants their kids to have the mumps,” she said. “Taking safety precautions is a good idea; it will make some people upset. It would be horrible to have a mumps outbreak.”
For more information about mumps or vaccinations, contact Panhandle Health District at 208- 415-5270.