KAILUA-KONA — The state Department of Health confirmed six more cases of mumps in Hawaii County in the past week as the outbreak of the virus continues across the state.
The agency’s latest tally, updated on Thursday, brings the number of confirmed cases in 2017 to 72 in Hawaii County and 636 statewide.
“This does not compare to previous years at all,” said state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park.
The Department of Health’s disease summary, which tracks cases of a slate of diseases over a span of 10 years, shows just two cases of mumps in Hawaii County from 2007-16.
The more recent of those cases, in 2015, indicated the virus was confirmed in a nonresident.
Statewide, cases of the virus have remained in the single digits over the last decade.
“There is no comparison to previous years, because of the fact that previous years, we’ve never seen numbers like this,” said Park.
Recent confirmations of the virus include schools. In notices to staff and families of students sent last week, West Hawaii Explorations Academy and Keonepoko Elementary School in Pahoa reported confirmed cases of someone at the school having an infection with the mumps virus. The notices don’t indicate whether the person is a student or staff member.
The answer to exactly what’s driving the outbreak this year isn’t an easy answer.
But Park said a common practice with other infections could suggest how mumps is spreading: people are getting sick, but not sick enough to stay home and recover.
Park said it’s a practice they see every flu season as well as with other respiratory diseases.
“And we’re seeing that with mumps,” she said. “And I think that above all is what’s contributing.”
The Department of Health says anyone who thinks they have mumps should stay at home to keep from spreading the disease until they’re cleared to return to work or school.
