Mumps - Students Beware!

Sheffield University has been hit with an outbreak of mumps. An email has been sent out to all students warning them of the virus which is being spread from students still attending University with the common disease.

The email stated that the University is ‘currently experiencing an outbreak of mumps in the student population. At the end of February the total number of cases notified was 28. By the end of Monday, March 30th, the number of cases had risen to 75 with more cases presenting yesterday.

For all those that do not know what mumps is: Mumps is a viral infection of the parotid salivary glands. Mumps is caused by a contagious virus, which is transmitted through the air from the coughs and sneezes of infected people.

It takes 14 and 21 days for the symptoms of mumps to develop, after coming into contact with someone who has the virus. Mumps is normally a mild illness, but in a minority of cases there can be severe complications, such as deafness, infertility and meningitis.

Students at the University have been urged ‘to have an MMR booster if they had not already had 2 MMR vaccinations’. Those that have caught the virus are told to stay at home to prevent the epidemic from spreading.

Beware students, the disease can cause infertility and also the guys painful testicular swelling!

1-0 Sheffield Hallam (for now).