Colorado has experienced 60 cases of the mumps thus far in 2017 with more possible cases currently under investigation. The 60 cases represent more than three times the number of cases reported in the state in all of 2016, according to The Denver Post.
A majority of the cases have been linked to an outbreak in the Denver area, which has sickened 46 people. However, according to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment epidemiologist Lisa Miller, MD, no new cases associated with the outbreak have been detected since February. Health officials are reportedly hopeful vaccination clinics set up to combat the outbreak were effective.
Still, elsewhere in the state, health officials are "continuing to [see] sporadic cases of mumps that don't turn out to be related to the outbreak," said Dr. Miller, according to The Denver Post.
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Dr. Miller told the Post these isolated cases are a part of a nationwide mumps boom. Thirty-seven states have reported a combined total of more than 1,000 mumps cases thus far in 2017.
The mumps are best known for painful, swollen salivary glands that cause puffy cheeks and swollen jaw. It 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.
In 2016, the number of mumps cases across the nation hit a 10-year high.
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