THE mumps outbreak which affected York students this summer could be one of the biggest in England this year.
Out of 158 cases of mumps reported to North Yorkshire Health Protection Unit in May and June, 85 were students at the University of York, and 20 were students at York St John College.
The outbreak is thought to be linked to a sporting event in Spain, which York St John College students and representatives of other UK universities attended in April.
The Evening Press spoke to other universities who also attended, and found that York had the highest infection rate, followed by the University of Derby, which had 11 cases. Leeds University said about half a dozen students had been infected and the University College, Chester, had four cases. Not all were directly linked to the sporting event.
But Dr Ebere Okereke, consultant in communicable disease control at the North Yorkshire Health Protection Unit, said various factors could affect the size of an outbreak, and there had been more mumps cases than usual throughout the country over the last two years.
Not all the student cases in York had been confirmed by tests, and Dr Okereke said the outbreak was on the decline.
Updated: 10:37 Friday, June 25, 2004
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article