Mumps Case In Puyallup Elementary School

PUYALLUP, WA - A female student at Northwood Elementary School has come down with mumps, county health officials say, but she is being kept out of school until she is no longer contagious to prevent the virus from spreading.

Additionally, the school will keep up to 13 un-vaccinated or under-vaccinated students out of school beginning Jan. 16 to prevent them from contracting mumps. The MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella) provides protection against mumps and is about 88 percent effective. Puyallup school officials first learned of the possible mumps case on Jan. 5.

This is the first mumps case where the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has identified a location of a victim. Department spokesman Steve Metcalf has told Patch.com that the department was withholding location information about mumps cases in Pierce County to protect the identities of mumps victims.

In contrast, King County has been providing almost daily updates about where mumps cases are located.

"When we look at the information we want to share with the public, we're looking for information that's useful and beneficial," Metcalf told Patch.com in December.

Puget Sound is in the midst of a mumps outbreak with over 110 probable or confirmed cases in King County, mostly in the Auburn area. Pierce County has a combined 15 confirmed or probable cases.

The department says it is working with school officials in Pierce County to monitor the mumps outbreak.

“In recent weeks, the health department has worked proactively to inform schools countywide about possible increase in mumps cases,” Communicable Disease Division Nigel Turner said in a press release. “Public health is essential to keep the public informed about emerging disease threats and to control disease outbreaks."

Mumps is very contagious, especially in confined populations. Mumps causes flu-like symptoms, but a hallmark of the virus is swelling of the face, head, and trunk.

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