There was a report of a couple cases that appeared to be mumps in our district this week. Because this would be highly unusual, the case was refered to the Iowa Department Public Health for further analyzes. Upon further testing, they determined it was not mumps, but rather a form of parotitis that mimics mumps.
The district has been working very closely with the Benton County Health Department along with the Iowa Department of Public Health to make sure we give accurate and up to date information. If you have any questions please feel free to call the Benton County Health Department. We will continue to monitor our students health concerns as the flu season is now upon us.
Below are some valuable reminders from the Iowa Department of Public Health:
Parotitis is a swelling of one or more of the salivary glands, usually caused by a virus. The viruses that most commonly cause parotitis are mumps, parainfluenza, and coxsackie virus. All patients are entitled to privacy regarding their medical diagnosis, but the prevention measures are the same for all of these causes.
Viruses that cause parotitis are spread by droplets of saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose, or throat of an infected person, usually when the person coughs, sneezes or talks. Items used by an infected person, such as cups or soft drink cans, can also be contaminated with the virus, which may spread to others if those items are shared. In addition, the virus may spread when someone who is ill touches items or surfaces without washing their hands and someone else then touches the same surface and rubs their mouth or nose.
Most transmission likely occurs before the salivary glands begin to swell and within the 5 days after the swelling begins. Therefore, CDC recommends isolating patients with parotitis for 5 days after their glands begin to swell.
If you have parotitis, there are several things you can do to help prevent spreading the virus to others:
* Minimize close contact with other people, especially babies and people with weakened immune systems.
* Stay home from work or school for 5 days after your glands begin to swell, and try not to have close contact with other people who live in your house.
* Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and put your used tissue in the trash can. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands.
* Wash hands well and often with soap, and teach children to wash their hands, too.
Students with symptoms of parotitis should be seen by their healthcare provider and stay home from school as recommended. For more information on parotitis, please contact your healthcare provider.
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The medical diagnosis was confirmed by Virginia Gay prior to the district\'s letter, and it was confirmed again by the hospital\'s nurses and the state health department as a confirmed case of mumps after the district\'s letter was issued. To date neither the hospital nor the health department has contacted the person who contracted mumps to inform them that their diagnosis was incorrect, which, if so, would be the first thing an agency would do.
My client is the parent of the minor child who contracted mumps, so Virginia Gay did not violate HIPAA (not \"HIPPA,\" Mr. Educated). Simply stated, a child in the Vinton school district was diagnosed with mumps last week, and to date, neither that child, nor the child\'s parents have been informed that the diagnosis was wrong. To the contrary, it has been confirmed twice as accurate, even after the school district\'s letter was circulated.
I doubt that the Iowa health department and Virginia Gay Hospital would conceal a misdiagnosis from a seriously sick child for over a week (after confirming it twice), which would be the case if the district\'s letter is accurate. Now THAT would be a serious breach. (Or is it \"breech\" Mr. Educated?)
Also, does the hospital have a right to disclose that information to you Kevin? It seems as if it is a breech of HIPPA. Maybe there are special circumstances.
I think what is important here is that we NEED to trust our public heath officials and the nurses involved in this case. They are not going to purposely mislead the school district or community.
\"If you have parotitis, there are several things you can do to help prevent spreading the virus to others:\" and it goes on to list the ways. This is a cut and paste from the CDC website (http://www.cdc.gov/mumps/about/mumps-facts.html) except the word mumps is replaced by parotitis. What virus caused the parotitis? The only viral paraotitis I could find is caused by the mumps virus. In fact Mumps is also known as epidemic parotitis.