Health district tracks 33 cases of mumps in Snohomish County

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 21, 2017

MONROE — More mumps cases have been reported in Snohomish County, including new cases in Monroe schools.

The disease also has been reported in the Everett and Stanwood-Camano school districts.

The Snohomish Health District has been tracking a string of cases in Snohomish County, part of a statewide outbreak.

There now are up to 33 cases of mumps in the county, 13 of them confirmed and 20 that are considered probable, meaning it is likely the individuals are infected based on symptoms and exposure to the illness.

Of the 33 cases, 21 are affecting local schools. There have been five confirmed and 12 probable cases in Everett at Hawthorne Elementary, North Middle and Everett High schools. One case has been confirmed and two more are considered probable in Monroe at Frank Wagner Elementary and Park Place Middle schools. In Stanwood, there has been one confirmed case at Twin City Elementary.

Students who have not gotten the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are asked not to come to those schools until the 26th day after possible exposure, according to the health district. The schools have notified employees, students and families about the outbreak. In Monroe, emails were sent in English and Spanish last week, and the parents of about 20 students at Park Place Middle School were called because the school does not have records of them being vaccinated, spokeswoman Erin Zacharda said.

Students who are excluded for lack of immunization can return to school sooner if they provide documentation that they’ve received the vaccine. Schools honor exemptions from vaccination for personal, medical or religious reasons. However, exempted students should wait to return to school.

The number of mumps cases in Snohomish County has been climbing, from 11 to 22 to 33 over the past three weeks. It’s worse than the health district has seen in years. Between 2013 and 2016, there were three total cases of mumps reported in Snohomish County.

Mumps is a fast-spreading disease and people can be contagious before they realize they have it. Though most people who get sick experience a relatively mild illness, mumps can cause long-term health problems, including inflammation of the brain or tissue around the brain, hearing loss or inflammation of testicles, ovaries or breast tissue.

Most adults born before 1957 are immune because they had mumps as children, when it was a common illness. It used to be the primary cause of inflammation in or around the brain. A vaccine was in use by the late 1960s.

The health district still is gathering information about how many of the infected students in Snohomish County have been immunized.

“I can say most of the students have been vaccinated, but what we’re trying to determine is not only if they’re vaccinated, but whether they’re fully vaccinated,” said Heather Thomas, health district spokeswoman.

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is a two-dose series. It isn’t 100 percent effective, but it reduces the risk of contracting mumps and it’s “the best prevention was have,” Thomas said. She encourages people to check their immunization records to make sure they are up to date, especially for children in daycare or school and adults who work in the medical field or other high-exposure jobs.

Medical experts are looking into reasons for the high number of mumps cases this year, she said. Across Washington, more than 600 people have been sickened since October. Most of those cases are in Spokane and King counties. Other states have been hit with the illness, as well. In Arkansas, nearly 2,900 suspected or confirmed cases have been reported.

The Snohomish Health District set up a webpage at www.snohd.org/mumps with information about the local outbreak and how to prevent the spread of the disease. People should stay out of public places if they are sick. Symptoms include fever, head and body aches, tiredness, loss of appetite and swelling visible in the cheeks and jaw.

Cases still are cropping up around Washington, Thomas said.

“We’re not sure when it will slow down,” she said.

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com