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Dr. Kim Mulvihill ReportingHealth officials are urging anyone who hasn't had the mumps to get immunized against against them. They want to prevent the current mumps outbreak in the midwest from spreading out west.
This is the worst outbreak of mumps in the past 20 years. And while the majority of cases are in Iowa, health officials all the way to California are on heightened alert.
This is the virus that causes mumps, an infection that incubates in salivary glands.
Robert Schechter, MD: "We have salivary glands in the back of our cheeks and under our necks. So the virus has a tendency to grow there and cause inflammation and cause puffy cheeks and neck."
Some might think mumps is a disease of the past. Think again. A mumps epidemic now in the midwest has infected more than four thousand people, hospitalizing 50.
California health officials are worried.
Dr. Schechter: "With over 4,000 people getting sick in the midwest in recent months with mumps we may be in the same position here in California."
Dr. Robert Schechter is with the California Department of Health Services. He says the current epidemic in the midwest reveals the vaccine-- given routinely in America-- is not perfect, especially among those who only got a single dose.
Dr. Schechter: "About 80 out of 100 of those people will be protected against mumps. If you have two doses of the mumps vaccine, about 90 out of 100 people who will be protected against mumps."
Anyone vaccinated in the 60's up until the late 80's probably got one dose. That means lots of college age kids and some adults are vulnerable.
While almost all people infected with the mumps recover fully, severe complications can occur-- even death.
Mumps can cause a serious swelling of the brain, permanent damage to reproductive organs, cause inflammation to the pancreas, kidneys or breasts, and result in permanent hearing loss, even early miscarriage.
Getting vaccinated is key.
Dr. Schechter: "If you have no doses, nearly everyone exposed will get a mumps infection."
State health officials are urging that soccer fans heading to World Cup check their medical records and get vaccinated. Germany is in the middle of a mumps outbreak, too.
Health care workers, campers and college students home on break should also make sure they've gotten two doses.
If you were born before 1957, you may have been infected with mumps naturally and may be immune. However, that's no guarantee.
