Friday, March 07, 2014

Mumps outbreak at Ohio State University

The Columbus Health Department affirmed that eleven Ohio State students have been diagnosed with suspected mumps. Now, it's possible these are foreign students who were not properly immunized, but they may also be the adult children of mothers who didn't believe in vaccinations. I had it as a child and it's no picnic then--but for adults it's serious. Medical complications include:

Deafness
Orchitis or inflammation of the testes in males that can lead to sterility
Encephalitis or meningitis (inflammation of the brain or tissues of the brain and spinal cord)
Inflammation of the ovaries
Inflammation of the breasts (mastitis)
Pancreatitis
Mumps in early pregnancy may result in the spontaneous abortion of the fetus.

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