New York Mumps Outbreak Strikes 57 People Between Ages Of 1 To 42

October 23, 2009 7:39 a.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - The New York Department of Health has confirmed an outbreak of old fashioned mumps in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn where at least 57 confirmed or probable cases have been reported since Aug. 21.

Officials say the outbreak was traced back to a child who went to Britain, then attended summer camp in upper New York state and infected fellow campers there who brought the disease back with them to Brooklyn where it has continued to spread. Most of the victims have been between the ages of 10 to 15, but the youngest patient so far was a 1-year-old, while the oldest victim was 42.

Health officials are puzzled over why it is spreading though. While vaccination rates are low in Britain, at least 75 percent of the Brooklyn victims had received the normal two doses of mumps vaccine. However, the vaccine only has a 90 percent effective rate.

There is no treatment for the disease that causes painful swelling of the salivary glands. Mumps usually runs its course in about 10 days. Complications can lead to deafness or even death and was a childhood scourge until vaccinations largely ended the disease in developed nations.

Mumps is spread by large respiratory droplets of the virus spread through coughs and sneezes.