Outbreak Alert: Highly Contagious Respiratory Disease Wreaks Havoc in Universities

Hoosiers are now familiarizing themselves with the symptoms of mumps after the outbreak of the disease in many Indiana colleges. They do so to ensure they are well-protected.

According to a news article on The Washington Times, the following universities were reported to have cases of outbreaks of the "highly contagious" respiratory disease: Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana University in Bloomington, and Butler University. On top of the fifty cases all over the various campuses, there have been approximately fifteen community cases in central Indiana that are separate from the outbreak according to Courier Journal.

"With events like IU's Little 500 and Purdue's Grand Prix coming up, it's important for people to remember that the best protections against mumps are to get vaccinated, follow good hygiene practices and to stay home and seek medical advice if you experience symptoms," said Dr. Jerome Adams in a statement. Dr. Jerome Adams is the state health commissioner of Indiana.

Earlier this year, following the reports of mumps outbreaks at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky, the health officials of Kentucky put out a similar warning.

According to Indiana State Department of Health, people generally think of mumps as a condition wherein an individual has puffy cheeks as well as swollen jaws because of the inflammation of the salivary glands under the ears. Other symptoms of this disease are muscle aches, headache, loss of appetite and fatigue, fever and pain below the ears as well as respiratory symptoms, including coughing.

Mumps can definitely be spread through sneezes or coughs of infected people or by means of direct or indirect contact with their throat or nose droplets. It is pretty much easy for mumps to spread in schools considering that students usually have close contact with infected people and may even share their things, like cigarettes and drinks.

Infected individuals must stay away from others, most especially pregnant women, unvaccinated infants, and those with diseases that affect their immune systems.