Mumps cases increase to 227 but none in county years ago
And the number keeps climbing.
Officials of Kansas Department of Health & Environment announced Monday that there are now 227 cases of mumps (probable and confirmed) reported in 32 Kansas counties. Local health departments also are investigating an additional 35 patients with potential symptoms of mumps.
KDHE has made available 10,000 doses of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine at no cost to assist local health departments in those counties where mumps have been reported.
The majority of the cases are in Douglas County. Other counties are Anderson, Atchison, Butler, Chautauqua, Clay, Ellis, Franklin, Geary, Gove, Harvey, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Norton, Osage, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Riley, Rooks, Saline, Scott, Sedgwick, Seward, Shawnee, Sheridan, Sherman, Wabaunsee, and Wyandotte.
This vaccine from the federal Vaccine for Children's (VFC) program is to be used exclusively for the purpose of vaccinating people for mumps who have not received both MMR doses.
No cases have been reported in Marion County.
Since the 1990s, MMR vaccinations are required to enter kindergarten in Kansas schools. The first vaccination is given in the first year of life and a second can be given a few months later but must be given prior to school entry. The majority of the individuals in Kansas with mumps had received MMR vaccinations.
The mumps epidemic is the nation's first in 20 years. The majority of cases in Kansas are people between the ages of 20 and 30, and a few children under 10 have been affected.
