Colorado this year is seeing a surge in mumps cases unlike any other in at least a decade, but a state Health Department official said it appears that the outbreak responsible for most of the cases so far is ending.
In only three months of 2017, Colorado has seen 60 reported cases of mumps, and more possible cases are being investigated, said Dr. Lisa Miller, the state epidemiologist. That is more than three times the number of cases reported in the state all of last year. Every other year in the previous decade saw only single-digit case numbers.
The biggest reason for the dramatic spike this year has been an outbreak of 46 linked cases in Denver and Arapahoe County. But Miller said no new linked cases have been identified since the end of February, and health officials are hopeful that vaccination clinics helped stem the outbreak.
“But we are continuing to get sporadic cases of mumps that don’t turn out to be related to the outbreak,” Miller said.
Those isolated cases, Miller said, are the result of a nationwide mumps boom that mirrors Colorado’s own increase. This year, 37 states have reported more than 1,000 mumps cases, combined, and Miller said outbreaks elsewhere will likely continue to keep Colorado case numbers ticking upward.
READ MORE AT: http://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/03/mumps-cases-booming-colorado/