Mumps cases continue to rise

Posted by Judy Arbique May 16, 2007

Health officials have begun a mumps vaccination program for healthcare workers in Nova Scotia as a measure to reduce the spread of mumps. Immunization with MMR vaccine has been initiated to protect healthcare workers, and to slow the transmission of the mumps virus.

As of May 11, the Department of Health confirmed 222 cases of mumps in the current outbreak.

Currently, healthcare workers who have been exposed to patients with mumps infection, or symptoms of infection are required to stay at home to prevent possible transmission of mumps to co-workers and patients. Although immunization is not expected to stop the outbreak, it will reduce staff absenteeism due to exposure to infected patients; thereby, ensuring that the healthcare force is adequately staffed and able to sustain healthcare services during the outbreak.

If nothing else, the current mumps outbreak has been a wake-up call to the healthcare system's ability to deal with infection outbreaks. Hopefully, important lessons will be learned that can be untilized in helping to prepare Nova Scotia for larger infection outbreaks such as the feared influenza pandemic that scientists fear may be in our future.

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Further reading:

Mumps

Avian flu pandemic