SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS) are working with local counties and public health officials to address cases of mumps at four prisons in the central valley area and Riverside County. There are currently 22 suspect cases and six confirmed at Wasco State Prison, with the first diagnosis on December 12, 2019. Since the initial outbreak, one confirmed case and one suspect case have been found at California Rehabilitation Center; one confirmed case and one suspect case have been found at California State Prison, Corcoran; and one suspect case has been found at Pleasant Valley State Prison.
Numerous members of the population at various prisons throughout the state are quarantined and being monitored by health care personnel at the institutions. The MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccination will be offered to all in the affected areas, including staff. CDCR and CCHCS are working to minimize the spread, sanitize affected areas and identify any other persons who may have been infected by the virus. Visitation and movement are limited at the institutions to help contain any potential transmission. Both staff and members of the population are being offered masks to help limit exposure. Education about mumps is being provided to the population and staff. Surveillance and investigations are ongoing. Those intending to visit loved ones at a prison should check for any possible impacts to visitation. More information about visiting can be found on the CDCR website.
BACKGROUND
Mumps is an extremely contagious and infectious viral disease which causes swelling of the parotid salivary glands. The mode of transmission for the virus is airborne transmission or droplet spread and can be transmitted up to six feet away and after only a few minutes of exposure. Mumps can also be spread via direct contact of the saliva of an infectious person. Cases are considered suspect if an individual shows symptoms; a case is confirmed with lab testing.
Mumps begins with non-specific symptoms such as fever, fatigue, myalgia, anorexia, headache and respiratory symptoms. The classic unilateral or bilateral painful swelling of the parotid gland occurs approximately 48 hours after symptom onset. The infectious period for mumps is two days prior to parotitis (swollen salivary glands) and five days after onset of parotitis. Fifteen to-20 percent of those infected and shedding virus are asymptomatic. The incubation period can be up to 25 days. In outbreak settings, 95 percent of mumps cases had been vaccinated.