UNC warns students about a case of the mumps on the Chapel Hill campus
UNC-Chapel Hill has alerted the campus that a student has the mumps and may have spread the viral illness last week.
In a campus-wide message Wednesday, the university said the general population has a low risk of contracting mumps from the contagious student. UNC said it has contacted individuals who have been in direct contact with the student.
Mumps usually causes puffy cheeks and a swollen jaw. Symptoms can include fever, muscle aches, unusual tiredness, loss of appetite, headache and swollen, tender salivary glands under the ears on one or both sides, the university said.
In this case, people could notice those symptoms between Jan. 23 and Feb. 12, according to UNC.
The university advised those people to stay home, away from others and to call Campus Health, the University Employee Occupational Health Clinic or a healthcare provider before going to the clinic.
Mumps is highly contagious and spread through coughing, sneezing and saliva from an infected person. UNC suggests washing your hands frequently, covering your cough and sneezes, avoiding close contact with sick individuals and not sharing drinks, utensils or cigarettes to prevent catching the virus.
Public health officials worked to contain a mumps outbreak last fall, with more than a dozen cases reported at Elon University and High Point University.
The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, called the MMR vaccine, is safe and prevents most people from getting sick from the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people get the vaccine twice as children, but the CDC says a third dose as an adult can help boost immunity during an outbreak.
UNC advised people with concerns to call the Orange County Health Department to speak to a communicable disease nurse at 919-245-2400, Campus Health Services at 919-966-6603 or the University Employee Occupational Health Clinic at 919-966-9119.
