Students received an email just before noon on Friday informing that three University of Alabama students were diagnosed with and have recovered from mumps.
“The three students are no longer contagious, and all have resumed their normal activities,” the email said.
The email went on to say that, as a precautionary measure, the Alabama Department of Public Health will directly contact people who likely had close contact with the diagnosed students, telling them they should be tested.
It also contained information regarding the mumps virus, saying it can be spread from person to person through coughing, sneezing or talking, as well as from coming in contact with a surface that someone with mumps has touched with unwashed hands, and then touching one’s mouth or nose.
“The most common symptoms include low-grade fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite, and swollen or tender salivary glands below the ear,” the email said. “Some people may have mild or no symptoms. Most people with mumps recover completely in a few weeks.”
Students with swollen glands should get tested for mumps at the UA Student Health Center, Tuscaloosa County Health Department or through a private physician, the email went on to say.
Several links and contacts were included in the email, letting students know where they can find out more information about mumps and how to get immunizations – something that most all students are required to have.
The links and contacts are as follows:
For information regarding mumps from the Center for Disease Control, visit https://www.cdc.gov/mumps/index.html
For information regarding mumps from the Alabama Department of Public Health, visit http://www.adph.org/
For questions about immunizations and immunization status, students can contact the SHC at 205-348-6262
For any other mumps questions, students can call ADPH Immunization at 1-800-469-4599, the Tuscaloosa County Health Department at 205-562-6900, or visit https://www.ua.edu/campuslife/
