More mumps cases reported in Illinois
Illinois health officials report 17 more cases of mumps, bringing to 63 the total number of those suffering the painful swelling of salivary glands under the jaw.
This year's number of cases is more than five times the annual average for the state, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says other Midwestern states also are reporting an unusually high caseload of the contagious viral infection. Iowa has reported the nation's largest outbreak in nearly two decades with about 600 cases.
The Iowa epidemic is thought to have started on college campuses, where close living quarters make an ideal breeding ground for the virus, the newspaper said.
Symptoms of mumps include fever, headache and swollen salivary glands.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
