A mumps outbreak that started at Philadelphia-based Temple University is spreading to other areas in the region, growing to nearly 100 cases, according to a report by CBS Philly, a CBS-affiliated television station.
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health issued a health alert March 1, stating that it was investigating a mumps outbreak at Temple University. Later in the month, nearly 9,000 Temple University students signed an online petition asking the university to close temporarily.
According to a March 20 CBS Philly report, the number of possible mumps cases had reached 74. A Temple University spokesperson told CBS Philly that university officials were not considering closure.
That number has now reached 93, according to the most recent report. Philadelphia-based Drexel University, West Chester (Pa.) University, Abington (Pa.) Senior High School and North Wales (Pa.) Elementary School are all reporting mumps cases.
Mumps, a contagious disease, causes fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite, according to the CDC. The agency recommends children get two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, one at 12 through 15 months of age, and another at 4 through 6 years of age.