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Mumps may have been spread via air travel: CDC
Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:01 PM BST

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Two persons identified by the Iowa Department of Public Health as having mumps may have transmitted the disease to travelers on nine different commercial flights, health officials note in the April 14th issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In December 2005, a large outbreak of mumps began in Iowa, and 515 possible cases have been reported during 2006 as of April 10th. Officials are currently investigating whether this outbreak influenced mumps activity in neighboring states, including Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.

Between March 26 and April 2, 2006, two mumps patients traveled on the following flights:

Northwest Airline:

--March 26, #3025 from Waterloo, Iowa to Minneapolis, Minnesota

--March 26, #760 from Minneapolis to Detroit, Michigan

--March 27, #0260 from Detroit to Washington, DC-Reagan National

--March 29, #1705 from Washington to Minneapolis

--March 29, #3026 from Minneapolis to Waterloo

American Airline:

--April 2, #1216 from Tucson, Arizona to Dallas, Texas

--April 2, #3617 from Dallas to Lafayette, Arkansas

--April 2, #5399 from Lafayette to St. Louis, Missouri

--April 2, #5498 from St. Louis to Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Officials from the CDC and the Iowa Department of Public Health are advising travelers on these flights to see a healthcare provider if any mumps symptoms arise such as swollen glands, sore throat, or fever. Healthcare providers are urged to report any suspected cases to public health officials.

The CDC and state health departments have launched a multistate investigation to alert passengers sitting in close proximity to the index cases of the potential risk.

Mumps rates in the US first fell after a vaccine was first introduced in 1967. The incidence declined further after routine vaccination was recommended for children in 1977 and after a second dose of the MMR vaccine was implemented in the 1990s.

Transmission of various respiratory pathogens during air travel has been reported, but "exposure and transmission of mumps during commercial air travel has not been described previously," CDC and IDPH officials report.

SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, April 14, 2006.