Awais Vaid, Director of Research and Planning with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, says the county went from 24 mumps cases in early December to just four since. But he says each case needs to go through two incubation periods before being sure the illness has left the area.
The mumps outbreak in Champaign-Urbana had decreased from over 100 last summer to just eight cases in November. But in December, the total has climbed back to 24. A expert with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District can't point to one reason for that increase.
Awais Vaid with Champaign-Urbana's Public Health District says staff is currently dealing with eight cases of mumps. The outbreak saw as many as 175 since late August, mostly among U of I students. But Vaid believes the outbreak could be over after the end of the fall semester.
The mumps outbreak at the University of Illinois stands at over 100 cases after the first week of classes. Those with contact with the U of I are being encouraged to get an extra dose of the mumps vaccine
The Illinois Department of Public Health says so far in 2015, there have been 69 mumps cases reported at U of I's Urbana campus. That's almost 80 percent of all cases statewide.
