The health officials in Arizona were responsible for announcing on Thursday regarding the outbreak of mumps in and around Phoenix. It is true that even though it is not going to be deadly, the disease can be responsible for causing unwanted complications for the entire life. According to the medical director for the control of diseases at the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, Dr. Rebecca Sunshine, no outbreak of mumps has been this severe earlier.
This is undoubtedly one of the first outbreaks of mumps that have been observed by Maricopa County in the last few decades. This is also one of the most important reminders that every person living in and around Arizona should get vaccinated for all those diseases that can be taken care of. Other than mumps, several other diseases can lead to lifelong problems, which vaccines can help in avoiding.
The number of cases
The officials stated that they saw almost 20 cases of this disease in the year 2019. However, since August, 12 cases were observed, it is more than the total number of cases that these health officials were expecting to see. Thankfully, most of these mumps cases were not known to have international travel. The healthy officials stated via emails that the disease has been responsible for spreading locally.
Mumps is an infection, which normally affects the salivary glands. However, the symptoms associated with this disease do not appear for almost three weeks after the contraction. Apart from that, the symptoms of mumps are also known to resemble the symptoms of flu. These symptoms include headaches, body aches, and also, fever. If you have these problems, chances are you have flu or mumps.
However, in certain circumstances, mumps can also lead to infertility, meningitis, and pancreatitis. Any individual who has mumps is considered to be contagious before the salivary glands start swelling. This means that people can spread this disease without even knowing. It is recommended that the public receive the vaccinations so that they can stay protected.
Important things to know
The vaccination that you have to consider taking is two doses of MMR vaccine, which is the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine. This will help in safeguarding you from more than a single disease, as stated by the health officials. To ensure that you are protecting yourself as well as others from this unwanted outbreak, you must consider taking certain precautions. Ensure that you are not sharing your food, utensils, drinks, as well as any other item, which are coming in constant contact with your nose and mouth. Make sure that you are covering up when you are sneezing and coughing. Do not forget to keep washing your hands thoroughly and consistently.
According to the officials, it has been further stated that if you feel that you might have mumps or even the symptoms, it is your responsibility to visit your healthcare professional and ask for a urine or cheek swab test. Ensure that you are staying protected constantly to avoid getting the disease, Dr. Rebecca Sunshine has clearly stated.
