On Wednesday, the Oklahoma State Health Department confirmed an outbreak of the mumps in Garfield County involving four confirmed infections and 34 more cases under investigation. The cases are linked to two Enid Public Schools.
Mumps is a highly communicable disease transmitted by person-to-person contact and is typically accompanied by initial symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite, followed by swollen salivary glands.
"If parents observe symptoms of mumps in their child, we are strongly requesting that the child be kept at home for the five days after those symptoms are discovered," said Kristy Bradley, an epidemiologist with the state health department. "This is the most effective way to prevent the disease from spreading."
A renascent outbreak of the mumps in Arkansas associated with 23 schools across two school districts has resulted in more than 130 possible infections.
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