Lake County Health Department officials on Tuesday categorized the previously identified "cluster" of mumps infections in Barrington (Ill.) High School as an "outbreak," according to NBC Chicago.
Previously, there were two confirmed mumps cases at the high school with dozens more suspected. Now, a third case has been confirmed, spurring officials to label the situation an official outbreak. The other suspected cases at the high school and nearby Prairie and Station Middle Schools are still under investigation.
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"With spring break approaching, and other warm-weather social events coming up, students should be particularly cautious, especially if they are planning to travel," said Mark Pfister, executive director of the county health department, according to NBC Chicago.
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 rare cases a mumps infection can result in serious conditions like sterility, meningitis and brain inflammation.
Two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine are 88 percent effective at preventing the mumps, according to the CDC.
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