According to junior Sophie Altchek, 23 (sister of Mic’s Chris Altchek), the Inn at Harvard, a building usually used for student swing housing, is now acting as a quarantine zone for affected students. In a school setting, it is especially important to wash your hands often and avoid sharing items, such as cups and utensils. Although most people are vaccinated against mumps at a young age through the MMR vaccine, the vaccination does not provide full protection.
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As of April 1, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 467 mumps cases nationwide, but did not delineate how many were at universities.
With the potential to spread off Sacred Heart’s campus, officials are urging people to get vaccinated if they aren’t already.
“Just when I think I can stop thinking about it, (we receive) a new email advising us … basically to stop what you are doing and stay home because you, all of you, are in constant danger”, says Sophia Lugo, a junior at the university.
The agency and the Fairfield Health Department have been working with the Sacred Heart University Wellness Center to investigate the outbreak.
The announcement actually came from the state Department of Health after another student on another unnamed college campus in the state, also came down with a case of the communicable viral illness.
Since then, nearby colleges such as Boston University and Tufts have reported outbreaks of mumps, as well as the University of Dayton, Indiana University and Miami University in Ohio. “It’s both disappointing and frustrating because I thought we were on the decline”.
“That’s no good. I got a couple friends that’s graduating coming up, so I know they’re not going to be too excited about that”, student Marlon Ewell said.
He explained that this outbreak could affect the upcoming commencement of the students this May 26. A month ago, the department determined that all infected students to that point had received a mumps vaccine prior to contracting the infection, and that 99 percent of undergraduate students at the college had met the state’s immunization requirements. Feinberg confirms that at least 40 affected students had been immunized against the disease.
This comes in wake of a national increase in mumps activity.
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Statewide, 67 cases have been reported since the beginning of the year, he said.
