Mumps numbers on par for average year in Alberta
Posted Nov 30, 2016 8:25 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Alberta Health Services officials are seeing a slight uptick in the number of mumps cases but overall the province is on track for another average year.
Numbers released from the AHS show there have been four cases in Calgary over 2016, compared to the three in 2015.
Across Alberta, the number of cases has jumped from four to seven but the figures show it’s still shy of the eight we saw two years ago.
Officials recommend children receive two doses of the vaccine, one at 12 months and the second between four and six years of age.
According to the government’s website “mumps is a contagious viral infection that causes swelling and pain in the head glands and neck glands. It is easily spread through the air (by sneezing or coughing) and by direct contact with someone who is affected.”
“Mumps can cause deafness, meningitis and, in rare cases, severe inflammation of the brain.”
The numbers come as officials in King County, Washington confirm they’re dealing with a mumps outbreak and that four of the patients were vaccinated.
