The mumps, a highly contagious infection, appears to be spreading through Long Beach, Long Island. 36 cases have already been confirmed. Roseanne Colletti found out what might be causing it.
Three dozen people have contracted mumps in one Long Island town in recent months, officials said.
Health officials in Long Beach said that there have been at least 36 suspected cases of the virus in a limited outbreak that hasn't spread elsewhere on the island.
Virtually all of the people infected were in their early 20s. Authorities have said that the outbreak is most likely attributable to a new strain of the virus that is resistant to vaccines. Most of the people who contracted the virus had already been vaccinated.
On Friday, Nassau County director of public health education Mary Ellen Laurain said that they were advising people who come down with the virus to stay home for five days.
Officials are urging anyone who may have come in contact with an infected person to consider getting a mumps booster shot. Officials said that because the virus has an incubation period of 12 to 25 days, there might be more people to come down with the illness.
Mumps is transmitted by coughing, sneezing and transfer of saliva. If a person contracts the virus, the symptoms are typically mild and go away within a few days.
