Fordham University has announced a possible mumps outbreak at the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx and on the Lincoln Center campus in Manhattan. Some 13 students are believed to contain the highly contagious virus.
"Mumps in college-age men and women usually runs its course without any lasting effects. Nonetheless, the University is trying to see what connection there might be among the affected students while stepping up the frequency and intensity of cleanings in communal bathrooms," the university said in a statement, CBS New York reports.
The University officials said that all the suspected students either have returned home or have been secluded since the patients are typically contagious for two days before symptoms arise.
Students are now required to show their vaccination receipts for mumps, measles and rubella virus before entering the campus. The University officials have placed more hand sanitizers in its communal restrooms to enhance cleanliness.
The University officials believe the virus is contained but they are advising students who experience disease symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes in the neck or ears and pain while chewing or swallowing. to visit doctors immediately
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the symptoms usually start to reveal itself after 16-18 days of infection. Sometimes serious complications arise but they are rare.
Medical professionals and agencies have been unable to find cure for the mumps. The University officials said that mumps vaccinations do not promise 100 percent immunity.
"All of the students who were tentatively diagnosed with mumps had been vaccinated," the university said. "Vaccinations do not offer 100 percent protection," New York Post reports.
Until now, there has been no reports of mumps outbreaks at other schools.
