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Official: 1 mumps case confirmed, 1 probable at UNCC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Students at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte were shocked and slightly concerned by the mumps diagnosis that Mecklenburg County Health officials confirmed.
 
There is one confirmed case and one probable at UNC-Charlotte, officials said.

The university later sent a letter to students, staff and faculty. View it by clicking here.

A notification letter from the Health Department to students and faculty will be sent out Monday.

Including the case mentioned above, there are three confirmed cases of mumps in Mecklenburg County and four probable cases. 

New numbers released in total are five confirmed and nine probable cases in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties.

"This is the first time I've heard about this," commented Brian Shoenfeld, who is a senior at UNCC. 

"It is pretty scary considering that there are a lot of people here. Close quarters," said Amos Lee, who is a junior at UNCC.

Officials said the male student lives off campus and is currently isolated in his home. A female student was also tested for mumps, but according to UNCC the test came back negative.

The Mecklenburg County Health Director said this case of the mumps marks the third in Mecklenburg County.

Director Dr. Stephen Keener added there are also four probable cases, meaning they have yet to be confirmed by a lab test. Keener said at least one of those probable cases is another student at UNCC, although he wouldn't say if that particular student is the female UNCC claimed tested negative for the virus.

"This is something we can expect to see in our community for some time," said Stephen Keener, during a press conference Monday afternoon.

Keener stressed the importance of making sure you and/or your children have had two doses of the vaccine.

During the initial outbreak of mumps in the Charlotte region other health officials warned teens and college-aged students can be susceptible to the virus for this reason. Also, college campuses are often a high number of people in one area.
 
"There may be more a mixing that's going on a college campus than in a work place environment," said Keener. "You have people in dorms, classes, and social events.
 
Health officials with the Mecklenburg County Health Department believe approximately 50 teachers and staff at the Covenant School were sickened by norovirus. 
 
They came to this conclusion based on the rapid onset and severity of the symptoms.   
 
No students were at the school and none are believed to be sick. 
 
Officials closed the school Monday due to the number of teachers out sick. Leaders also had crews come in and clean the school to prevent the potential further spreading of the gastrointestinal virus.
 
Channel 9 spoke with the Head of Covenant Day School Monday. Mark Davis said he also got sick but was feeling better.
 
"We're just taking this one step at a time," said Davis, over the phone.  "One step at a time to get our school back to full health."
 
Norovirus is a highly infectious virus that health officials say doesn't take much to spread.
 
"Norovirus is a highly infectious virus," said Keener. "It takes a very small number of virus particles to cause infection."
 
The school has not yet decided if it will open Tuesday.

This comes just two weeks after two confirmed cases at Lowe’s corporate headquarters in Iredell County in the customer support center, Lowe's officials said.

Lowe’s officials told Channel 9 they have provided employees with information about treating mumps and have asked them to check their personal vaccination records and make sure they’re up to date on the vaccine and made them aware of the places it’s available at.

Health department officials will hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.

Click here to read letter from Lowe's to employees about mumps

At the Lowe’s customer support center employees have taken additional housekeeping measures with providing more sanitizing.

How it spreads

Mumps is spread by droplets of saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose or throat of an infected person, usually when the person coughs, sneezes or talks. Items used by an infected person, such as cups or soft drink cans, can also be contaminated with the virus, which may spread to others if those items are shared.
Most mumps transmissions likely occur before the salivary glands begin to swell and within five days after the swelling begins.
Anyone who demonstrates mumps symptoms, including fever, headache, loss of appetite, low-grade fever, muscle ache, pain or discomfort and tenderness and/or swelling of the glands below the ears should contact a physician.
There is no treatment for mumps; antibiotics are not effective against a virus. Some medications can help relieve symptoms.
The best defense is to get vaccinated and practice good hygiene habits, including regularly washing your hands with soap and water, sneezing and coughing into a tissue or your elbow and avoid sharing when you or someone else is eating or drinking.

There are two vaccines that prevent mumps: MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox, also known as varicella).

For more information about mumps, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website here. 

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