A letter posted on the school website alerts parents about a possible case of mumps at United Township High School in East Moline, Illinois.
The letter is signed by Superintendent Jay Morrow. It reads that a person in the school may have contracted a case of mumps.
Mumps is caused by the mumps virus. It starts with a few days of fever, headache, muscle aches and fatigue. People are usually protected from it by getting the MMR vaccine. The vaccine is typically given around a child’s first birthday and again between 4 and 6 years old.
Parents can bypass the vaccination requirement with a valid medical or religious reason.
A probable case of the mumps was also reported by the Rock Island County Health Department earlier this week, involving a student at John Deere Middle School in Moline, Illinois.
“A probable case means that clinically, with the symptoms and the lab work that was done, it meets the criteria that the Illinois Department of Public Health has setup for a case of mumps,” Terri Davies said, the assistant public information officer for the Rock Island County Health Department.
Rock Island County Health officials said approximately 98 percent of Moline students are vaccinated for mumps. The last confirmed case of mumps in Rock Island County was in December of 2014.
