The Glasgow University Students’ Representative Council (GUSRC) Thursday advised students to check their immunization status after they were made aware of several students being diagnosed with the viral disease, mumps.
According to a STV news report, a spokesperson for the University of Glasgow said: "Around 15 of our students have been diagnosed as having mumps and they have been advised to stay at home and rest while the virus runs its course”.
The GUSRC also recommended that where students stay in halls of residence we have asked if they can stay at an alternative address if possible.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) is working in tandem with Glasgow University to offer vaccinations for the student body.
Mumps is an acute viral disease that is characterized by fever and swelling and tenderness in one or more of the salivary glands. Maximum infectiousness occurs between two days prior to onset of illness to four days afterwards.
Complications to mumps may include orchitis (which has been reported to be a risk factor for testicular cancer), encephalitis and spontaneous abortion. Sterility in males is a rare possible outcome.
Mumps outbreaks occur in settings, where prolonged, close contacts facilitate transmission, like colleges and schools. 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.
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