Campus deals with mumps

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) -- Two Franklin & amp; Marshall College students are recovering from mumps, and four others suspected of having the ailment are on the mend.
The cases appear to be the first in Pennsylvania and come on the heels of the nation's worst mumps outbreak in 20 years.
College dean Kent Trachte said Friday no cases or suspected cases have been reported on campus since April 10, so he is optimistic the viral infection has been contained.
"We feel we are in a very good place, with no active cases on campus and the students recovering," Trachte said.
Iowa seems to be at the center of the nationwide outbreak. As of Thursday, Iowa had 975 cases of probable, confirmed and suspected cases, said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the state epidemiologist.
Cases have been reported in at least seven other states as well, totaling more than 1,000 across the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Mumps is a virus spread by coughing and sneezing. The most common symptoms are fever, headache and swollen salivary glands under the jaw. But it can lead to more severe problems, such as hearing loss, meningitis and fertility-diminishing swollen testicles.
No deaths and few complications have been reported from the current epidemic.
Once a childhood rite of passage, mumps has been on the wane since a vaccine came along in the late 1960s. A two-dose shot is recommended for all children, and is considered about 90 percent effective at preventing it.
Trachte said the local health department notified the college this week that blood tests confirmed the two cases of mumps. Test results for the four other students are pending.
All of the students had been vaccinated, according to the school.
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