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Fordham University Mumps Outbreak Spreads to Lincoln Center, School Warns

By Gustavo Solis | February 20, 2014 4:55pm
 Fordham University's mumps outbreak spread from it's Rose Hill campus to Lincoln Center Thursday.
Fordham University's mumps outbreak spread from it's Rose Hill campus to Lincoln Center Thursday.
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Flickr/Soroll

THE BRONX— Fordham University's mumps outbreak spread from its Rose Hill campus to Lincoln Center Thursday afternoon, school officials warned Thursday.

The school has been grappling with a mumps outbreak over the past week, after recording 12 cases in the last four days, it said. Fordham first learned of the outbreak in its Bronx campus, but later said it learned of a single case at its Lincoln Center campus on Thursday afternoon. Officials did not say when the first case was reported.

The university warned students to "wash their hands regularly with soap and water, and to clean tables, counters, doorknobs, etc., to prevent the spread of the virus,” in an email sent out Wednesday.

All 13 of the infected students have either gone home or been placed in quarantine, school officials said.

Fordham students are required to have full vaccinations before attending the university, including the vaccination for mumps, measles, and rubella.

"All of the students who were tentatively diagnosed with mumps had been vaccinated," the school said in a statement. "Vaccinations do not offer 100 percent protection, but vaccination is still strongly recommended."

Mumps is a contagious disease that is caused by a virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It usually starts with a fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite, and is followed by swelling of the salivary glands.

Fordham does not yet have laboratory confirmation that the illness is mumps, but that is the most likely diagnosis, school officials said.