YWN has just recieved an alert from the DOHMH Alert concerning the outbreak of mumps in Brooklyn:
Since August 21, 2009, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) has been investigating an outbreak of mumps that began among children from Borough Park who attended summer camp in Upstate New York. Cases of mumps have continued to occur in Borough Park since the onset of the school year. At this time, there are 57 confirmed or probable cases and additional suspect cases are under investigation. Cases have ranged in age from 1 to 42 years, with the majority occurring among children age 10-15 years. Twenty-five per cent of cases either did not have two doses of mumps containing vaccine or had unknown vaccination status, while the remaining 75% had two documented doses of mumps containing vaccine.
Mumps is an illness characterized by acute onset of unilateral or bilateral tender, self-limited swelling of the parotid or other salivary gland, lasting 2 or more days, and without other apparent cause. Rare complications of mumps include orchitis, mastitis, oophoritis, deafness, and encephalitis. The infectious period for mumps is from 2 days before onset of symptoms to 5 days after symptoms appear. The incubation period for mumps from exposure to onset of illnes s ranges from12-25 days.
Children who are not fully vaccinated against mumps are at the highest risk of infection. Individuals who have received two doses of mumps vaccine (preferably as MMR) are at significantly lower risk of developing mumps but outbreaks have been seen among fully vaccinated individuals.
Mumps is spread via large respiratory droplets. A contact is an individual who had face-to-face contact, within three feet of a presumed mumps case, or an individual who had direct contact with the case’s respiratory secretions. A list of potential contacts should be obtained and their immunity to mumps should be determined. Non-immune contacts are at risk for developing mumps and should be isolated at home from day 12 through day 25 after exposure. Vaccination is NOT considered effective post-ex posure prophylaxis against mumps, but MMR vaccination should be offered to non-immune contacts that do not have a contraindication to MMR vaccination to protect against subsequent exposures.
In the healthcare settings, suspect mumps cases should be given a mask to wear; healthcare providers should institute standard and droplet precautions. Exposed healthcare workers who do not have evidence of immunity at the time of exposure should stay home for the incubation period of 12 days through day 25 after exposure.
All suspected of cases of mumps should be reported to the Bureau of Immunization at 212-676-2288.
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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9 Responses
very scary hope they can contain it as quickly as possible
I got a call from my gp right before sukos bout it and he wants to give 2nd vaccine to my kid. there is and was lots of controversy regarding mmr there were cases of autism, i remember my neighbor’s child contracting mumps a day after his vaccine with such a bad and rare case. now if being vaccinated does not protect you 100% why should i run for the vaccine? can anyone well versed in this shed me some light pls?
Take heed!…?
Othher than watch out for symptoms what should one do. I have heard that this strain is striking kids that had their MMR twice so let’s not go into that discussion.
Take heed how?
To Sam,
I agree.
To #3,
What does erbp stand for? Do you work in a Er in BP? Also, the reason that kid got mumps from the shot is because the mumps shot is a live virus, so very rarely some kids actually get sick with mumps. Your GP is right- you should raise his immunity titers with another shot. BTW, it’s never been proven that vaccines cause autism. This is an urban myth; that seems to be alive and well in the frum community.
It is not an urban myth. The statistics are sketchy, but they were enough to be put to trial in England. There is a lot to say on the matter of whether MMR causes autism, but at the very least, one should try to have blood tests to assess their immune function before having shots. If the immune system is weak, there is more probability of complications from the shots themselves than actually getting the disease. “Ayn sofek Motzi vadai” would go here. And I do not believe Chayai Haklal requires one to take vaccines – Chayacha Kodmim lechayai Chaveirecha…
A lot to think about.
Neustadter has a book about the Vaccine Decision – well worth a look – to be educated, not necessarily to not give, or give, shots.
Behatzlacha and a Refuah Sheleima to all Cholei Klal Yisrael!!!
Today’s Daily News said the 75% of the kids who got the mumps HAD both MMR shots. The athorities don’t know why that happened. Also #3, if the child’s mumps symptoms appeared the day after he got the shot, he had it in his body ALREADY. Mumps, like most illnesses, incubate for a while before displaying symptems.
When the original concerns about the relationship between vaccines and autism were raised, a number of studies in different countries were immediately performed. These studies were done with great diligence, and published in top peer-reviewed medical research journals. Not a single one of the studies found a connection between autism and vaccination. Not one. No study has found a connection.
Aside from basic hygiene, vaccination has done more to halt the spread of disease than any other tool in the biomedical arsenal. Ask your parents of grandparents how they lived their lives in fear of polio before Salk and Sabin.
The probability of permanent harm by the diseases is far greater than that by vaccination. Why don’t you ask your doctor if he or she vaccinates his/her own children?
It is even sillier not to vaccinate in the Orthodox Jewish community. Communal functions are very common–and disease can spread very easily.
Starwolf, so they lived in fear of disease, and once vaccines came around, they didn’t need to? What happened to Yiras Shomayim? Shema Yigrom Hacheit?
Yisrael betach ba’Hashem, not vaccines… which are only an Hishtadlus, and this time it seems, the hishtadlus did not help…
So let me get this straight Mirm12–
Do you vaccinate your children?
When your children get sick, do you take them to your Rebbe for a bracha–or do you take them to a doctor?
Of course we believe in Yirat Shamayim.
We also believe that HKB”H expects us to do our part–which does not mean only that we sit on our tucheses; but rather that we should use the tools that were given us.