The Texas Department of State Health Services is investigating two separate mumps outbreaks in the northern portion of the state.
One outbreak includes 11 confirmed mumps cases associated with four cheerleading competitions, which took place from Nov. 6 to Dec. 10. The competitions were held in several different locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The second outbreak involves 71 cases identified in Johnson County and a single case confirmed in Tarrant County. The infections have primarily occurred among school children. The state health department is working with area school districts to limit the spread of the disease.
Recently, across the state's northeastern border, a renascent outbreak of the mumps in Arkansas has infected more than 2,200 people.
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.
According to the CDC, two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine are 88 percent effective at preventing mumps.
More articles on infection control:
Antibiotic sales for livestock continue to rise 'against the backdrop of a crisis'
Antibiotic-resistant Salmonella causes more than 6,000 illnesses per year
The 241 hospitals punished 3 years in a row for high infection rates