3 more cases of mumps confirmed.Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard Lab tests have confirmed three more cases of the mumps in Eugene and Springfield, bringing the total to six, Lane County Public Health officials said Tuesday. Health officials are awaiting state lab results on 21 other suspected cases and say more cases are likely to be confirmed. Public health nurses investigating the confirmed cases have not yet identified a common link, said Betsy Meredith, communicable disease communicable disease n. A disease that is transmitted through direct contact with an infected individual or indirectly through a vector. Also called contagious disease. nursing supervisor at Lane County Public Health. "We're not likely to find the source patient," she said. "It got here somehow. We don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how." It's possible that it was spread by someone who had a mild case who didn't realize they had the mumps, she said. The disease may have been in the community for a while, but not at levels that would have caught the attention of public health officials, she said. Mumps is not one of the diseases that physicians are required to report to public health officials. Two of the confirmed cases involved people who worked at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield, two involved students at the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. and two were community members. All are older than age 19; a gender breakdown was not available. The McKenzie-Willamette workers may have crossed paths and caught the disease from a common source, but no link has been found between the UO students, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Meredith. One of the six - the first case involving the McKenzie-Willamette nurse - was hospitalized briefly, but the person has since recovered, Meredith said. Mumps is a viral infection viral infection, n an infection by a pathogenic virus. A virus acts on the cell nucleus, taking over the genetic material within the nucleus and replicating itself. of the salivary glands salivary glands (săl`əvâr'ē), in humans, three pairs of glands that secrete the alkaline digestive fluid, saliva, into the mouth. that is spread through coughs or sneezes, by talking closely with someone who is infected and by transfer of saliva saliva Thick, colourless fluid constantly present in the mouth, composed of water, mucus, proteins, mineral salts, and amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starches. One to two litres are produced daily by the salivary glands. . Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle ache and swelling of the glands close to the jaw. Public health officials say the best way to slow the spread of disease is by following common-sense hygiene: covering coughs, staying home with a fever and washing hands. Mumps, once a common childhood disease all but eradicated by childhood vaccinations, re-emerged this winter as the nation's worst outbreak in 20 years spread from Iowa across the Midwest. |
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