A case of the mumps has been confirmed at the University of Missouri in Columbia, according to a report from the Missourian.
The student has been permitted to miss class and was instructed to remain in his or her room until the contagious period has ended. The student did not contract mumps on campus, according to the report.
"The next step is...to communicate to the people who might have been exposed, who were in (the patient's) closest contacts...roommate, the people around them. If they should have symptoms that might look like mumps...they should seek medical attention." Susan Even, MD, MU Student Health Center's executive director, told the Missourian.
According to health officials, vaccination against the disease is one of the best forms of protection. The CDC reports that two doses of the vaccine are 88 percent effective at preventing the mumps.
Renascent cases of the mumps have sprung up on several college campuses in recent months, including Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind., Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Boston University, SUNY Buffalo in New York, and the University of North Carolina in Charlotte.
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