March 4, 2020
On Tuesday, March 3, 2020, the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) notified the Colonial School District that five (5) William Penn High School (WPHS) students have now been diagnosed with mumps, with one (1) at George Read Middle School. In accordance with DPH guidelines, anything above three cases is officially considered an outbreak.
School officials contacted the families of students who are at a heightened risk due to their immunization status and provided them with the guidance provided by DPH. Individuals at ‘heightened risk’ include those who received only one of the two recommended doses of Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR) vaccine, as well as those who did not receive any of the recommended doses of the MMR vaccine.
The symptoms of mumps include fever, headache, body aches, loss of appetite and swelling of parotid salivary gland(s) — glands on the insides of the cheeks, the floor of the mouth, and under the tongue. Mumps symptoms could develop from 12 days to 25 days after exposure.
DPH advises any student or any member of the household who has symptoms or develops symptoms should be kept at home. In addition, it is recommended that you contact your child’s primary care provider immediately. As an ongoing preventive measure, all students should follow good hand washing and germ prevention practices. Review the immunization records of your children and make sure they are up to date for the mumps vaccine. If a child has received a single dose of the MMR vaccine, the second dose is recommended to be completed as soon as possible.
Colonial’s operations staff is doubling efforts to disinfect commonly used surfaces. Custodians are also using a germ-fighting wand to disinfect all areas. For more information about the wand and germ prevention tips, visit www.colonialschooldistrict.org.
Families with questions should contact their primary care provider or DPH at 1-888-295-5156.
