No additional cases of mumps have been confirmed at Bowdoin in the last week. The all-clear date—which is when unvaccinated students can come out of exclusion—remains December 11. Mid Coast Health Services has not confirmed any cases of mumps in the Brunswick area outside of those at the College, according to Director of Health Services Jeffrey Maher. There are still cases of mumps at several other NESCAC schools.
“It seems like it’s sort of smoldering along from campus to campus,” said Maher. “We’ve been lucky here—this is a smaller campus, so it’s been fittingly a smaller outbreak.”
This year, there has been an increase of mumps cases nationwide, particularly on college campuses. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 3,832 cases in 45 states and Washington D.C. There were 1,329 cases in 2015.