Province alerting schools, daycares as mumps outbreak grows

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This article was published 24/10/2017 (2962 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s public health department has reached out to schools and daycares as the province’s mumps outbreak continues its lengthy run.

In documents dated Oct. 19, and making their way to the public this week, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living asks parents and guardians of young children and post-secondary students and faculty to be aware of the symptoms of mumps, what to do if they suspect an infection and how to help prevent one.

“This letter serves as a reminder… to let people know the mumps outbreak is still continuing in Manitoba. It is important for people to know, even though they may not be hearing as much about it, that it is still ongoing,” Dr. Elise Weiss, acting chief provincial public health officer, said Tuesday.

(With schools back in session and students in close quarters, “the goal of sending this letter out (is) there are measures people can take to help protect themselves.”

As of last Thursday, there had been 1,150 confirmed cases of the contagious viral infection since the beginning of the outbreak Sept. 1, 2016, Manitoba Health says. The province normally experiences fewer than 10 cases a year.

The mumps occur mostly in children, commonly involving fever, headache, swollen salivary glands and cheeks, and difficulty chewing, swallowing or talking. Symptoms appear 12 to 25 days after exposure to the virus through direct contact with the saliva of an infected person, and usually last for a week or more.

There is no treatment; prevention (especially via immunization) is the most important form of protection and management, Manitoba Health says in its bulletin, which is to be distributed to all school divisions, post-secondary institutions and registered daycares.

Winnipeg School Division senior information officer Radean Carter said Tuesday afternoon she had yet to see the Manitoba Health reminder, but once it is logged, it will be passed on to all principals and vice-principals “and they will share the information with parents.”

Each WSD school will disseminate the information as it best sees fit, she said, with most making contact with parents and guardians via email lists, while some will also print the document to be sent home with students.

WSD is the largest in the city with more than 33,000 students attending 78 facilities.

Meanwhile, a year into the outbreak, the number of cases continues its slow climb, rising from 853 confirmed in the province as of Aug. 31.

“In many outbreaks, you will have your general, bell-shaped curve: you’ll start slow, peak and then wane out. With mumps, what we are seeing is more… of a flatter, straighter line,” Weiss said, adding Manitoba Health is keeping a close eye on the age groups involved, not just the total number.

“We see (mumps) in certain numbers every year in Manitoba and across Canada, so we have an average. When goes above that average, we start looking at it in terms of: is it meeting other criteria for an outbreak?” she said.

“It would be the same thing for calling an end. A year ago, we had an increased number… in a university-aged population which has now spread to all age groups. The same criteria would be used to say its over: it goes back down to baseline levels.”

While the information contained in the mumps bulletin is important, Weiss said — stressing the need for good hand hygiene and to stay home when sick — it is not uncommon for Manitoba Health to issue such public reminders, pointing out the department’s annual flu season push and a notice for a German measles outbreak in the 1990s.

scott.emmerson@freepress.mb.ca