Eight cases of mumps have been reported in McHenry County, including six tied to a Crystal Lake church and two at the McHenry County jail.
The county health department, which is investigating, said other suspected cases of the highly contagious malady have been identified at the McHenry County Correctional Facility in Woodstock.
Health officials did not name the Crystal Lake church associated with the six reported cases. But the department said it’s working with church and jail officials to identify close contacts of those infected and determine their immunization status. People without immunity are being advised to stay home, and those who have tested positive for mumps or who have symptoms, with test results pending, are also being isolated until they’re no longer infectious.
Health officials are also encouraging vaccination for those who lack it. Mumps is part of the MMR — or mumps, measles and rubella — vaccine, and inadequate vaccination has been associated with a recent resurgence in measles cases in Washington state and elsewhere, nearly 20 years after it was declared eradicated in the U.S.
Children should receive their first dose of the MMR vaccine at 12 to 15 months and the second dose at 4 to 6 years old, officials recommend. Those who’ve been vaccinated still occasionally become infected with mumps, but it’s generally less severe.
Symptoms of mumps usually take 16 to 25 days to appear and typically involve fever, headache, fatigue, aches and loss of appetite, followed by swollen salivary glands that cause puffy cheeks and a swollen jaw. Isolation from others is recommended for five days after symptoms appear. Most sufferers recover after a few weeks; more serious complications can occur, but those are rare. Anyone demonstrating symptoms should contact their health care provider.
The disease can spread easily in places where people are in close contact, like schools and camps, and transmission usually occurs through saliva or mucus when infected people sneeze or cough. To help control the spread of the disease, officials recommend that people wash their hands frequently, cover their mouths and noses when sneezing or coughing, and avoid sharing food or utensils.
In recent days health officials have separately reported two confirmed cases of mumps at Indiana University in Bloomington and a suspected case in southwest suburban Will County School District 92, which includes Lockport and parts of Homer Glen and Lemont.
For more information in McHenry County, contact the health department’s communicable disease program at 815-334-4500.
