7 Mumps Cases Reported At Houston ICE Facility

HOUSTON, TX — Seven mumps cases have been reported at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Houston, the Houston Health Department said.

The health department said all seven cases are among adult detainees who were detained during the infectious period. Officials said there is no evidence the disease was transmitted to anyone outside the facility.

Officials are working with the facility on infection control methods and will be conducting an on-site visit in the coming days.

"Since these individuals were isolated inside the facility during the period they were infectious, we do not anticipate these cases posing a threat to the community," Dr. David Persse, Houston’s local health authority and EMS medical director, said in a statement.

Mumps is preventable via vaccine. The HHD says it typically starts with a few days of fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite, followed by swollen salivary glands.

Anyone experiencing symptoms should contact their doctor, the HHD said.

The CDC considers those who received two doses of the MMR vaccine as children protected for life.

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