SALEM, Ore. – Officials have confirmed four cases of mumps in Oregon’s Marion County. That’s the most in any one year in a decade, they said.
The Statesman Journal reported that 12 suspected cases have been reported since Oct. 3, but eight of them turned out to be a different infection.
Mumps is a viral disease spread by coughing or sneezing on another person.
The Marion County Health Department said one case of the disease was reported in 2012, one in 2009 and one in 2006.
Health Officer Karen Landers said the current outbreak is “very uncommon,” although there are reports of mumps around the country, including in Iowa and Illinois.
Landers said the best way to prevent the disease is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.