3 additional undergraduates diagnosed with the mumps

About 345 students attended the free vaccination clinic provided by the Student Health Center on April 4 and 6. Photo by Bonnie Cash

Three additional cases of the mumps have been identified in undergraduate students, said Associate Dean of Students DeAnn Yocum Gaffney, bringing the total number of cases at Chapman this year to 12.

The three cases are not new, Yocum Gaffney said, but rather are students that were tested for the mumps the week of April 3 and received negative results, but were later reclassified as probable mumps cases, which means that they matched the clinical definition of the disease.

Jessica Good, the Orange County Public Health information officer, wrote in an email to The Panther April 13 that there are zero suspected cases.

“There’s nothing new. As far as I know, (there are) no new reports,” Yocum Gaffney said. “This is just a continuation of looking into the previous cases.”

As of March 31, there were three probable mumps cases and six confirmed with laboratory testing. The three new diagnoses mean that now, there are six probable cases and six confirmed with laboratory testing, Good wrote.

The mumps is a viral disease marked by puffed-out cheeks and a swollen jaw, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms can include a fever, muscle aches, tiredness and swollen, sensitive salivary glands.

Yocum Gaffney attributes the fact that there are no new cases to sending out health advisories, staying in regular contact with Orange County Public Health and holding vaccination clinics on April 4 and 6, at which about 345 students, faculty and staff received measles, mumps and rubella boosters.

“I think telling people to stay home is another thing (that has helped stop the spread of the disease),” Yocum Gaffney said. “I know people are just trying to work hard and do their part, but when you have a communicable disease, please stay home so that (the disease) doesn’t spread.”

There have been 1,965 cases of the mumps in 42 states, including California, from January 1 to March 25, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anywhere from 20 to 49 cases of those 1,965 have been in California. To prevent further spread of the disease, Yocum Gaffney recommends that students wash their hands regularly and use hand sanitizer.