Mumps cases continue to grow

The number of mumps cases in Nassau County appears to be growing, and health officials have said the outbreak is most apparent in Long Beach and its surrounding areas.

The Nassau County Department of Health announced its investigation of 18 mumps cases on Aug. 1. Officials say there are now 30 confirmed and 17 probable cases of mumps, News12 reported.

Mumps is a contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus, which is transmitted through droplets from an infected person’s cough, sneeze, saliva or from direct contact with an infected surface.  It is best known for the puffy cheeks and swollen jaw caused by inflammation of the salivary glands under the ears on one or both sides, and has no treatment.

The incubation period — the amount of time between exposure to the first sign of symptoms — for mumps is 12 to 25 days, and officials had said that it is hard to predict how many more cases will appear in the area.

Health officials told the Herald last month that most of the 36 cases at the time had been among young adults in their 20s, and many have been relatively minor and have not required hospitalization.

According to News12, the state health department said many of the people affected have been fully vaccinated with two doses of the MMR shot.