Another Case of Mumps Reported at IU Bloomington Campus, School Officials Confirm

By: David Shepherd, News Director / Anchor 

BLOOMINGTON - Mumps has been reported at IU's Bloomington campus for the third time in two months, school officials have confirmed.

A student at IU Bloomington has the mumps, according to the university.

The infected student lives off-campus and has already left for spring break, IU said in a statement.

It's not clear if the student knows, or had any contact with, the two students who had the mumps in February.

IU said the sick student had all of his required vaccines, including the measles shot.

The school is working with county and state health departments to determine the next steps.

Mumps is a contagious disease that is caused by a virus, according to the CDC. It typically starts with a few days of fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite. Then most people will have swelling of their salivary glands. This is what causes the puffy cheeks and a tender, swollen jaw.

Even though the vaccine has drastically reduced mumps cases, outbreaks still occur. Outbreaks have most commonly occurred among groups of people who have prolonged, close contact, such as sharing water bottles or cups, kissing, practicing sports together, or living in close quarters, with a person who has mumps, according to information from federal health officials.

Some vaccinated people may still get mumps if they are exposed to the virus. However, disease symptoms are milder in vaccinated people.