Outbreaks of mumps have made 2016 the worst year in a decade – hitting hardest on college campuses, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
As of Nov. 26, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 3,832 provisional mumps cases across 45 states and Washington, D.C. – more than triple 2015's total of 1,088, and the highest tally since 2006.
According to the Journal, the University of Missouri has 128 confirmed or probable cases since fall – mostly among people with ties to fraternities and sororities – forcing the cancelation of some campus events. University health officials said all the infected students had received the required minimum of two doses of the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine by the time they fell ill.
Meanwhile, Yale University health officials announced two suspected cases last week; Tufts University had nine confirmed cases this fall; and at the State University of New York at New Paltz, there have been 33 cases, the Journal reported.
Immunity from a mumps vaccination can start to fade after about a decade, Paul Offit, a professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told the Journal. An advisory group might now consider recommending a third dose for more people, he said.
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