Mumps outbreak confirmed at ICE detention facility in Houston

Dr. David Persse of the Houston Public Health Authority Department of Health & Human Services, addresses the media about recent mumps cases in a Houston ICE detention center on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. Seven cases were confirmed in the outbreak that started early January. less Dr. David Persse of the Houston Public Health Authority Department of Health & Human Services, addresses the media about recent mumps cases in a Houston ICE detention center on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. Seven ... more Photo: Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer Photo: Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 36 Caption Close Mumps outbreak confirmed at ICE detention facility in Houston 1 / 36 Back to Gallery

In the latest Texas resurgence of a familiar infectious disease, seven cases of the mumps have been confirmed at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Houston.

City health officials said Saturday that there has been no spread of the disease in recent days and that they're hopeful the outbreak has been contained. The individuals infected, all adults, were detained at the facility during the infectious period.

"Since these individuals were isolated inside the facility, we don't anticipate these cases posing a threat to the public," said Dr. David Persse, Houston's local health authority and medical director of the city's EMS program. "This is nothing to be afraid of."

Persse said the some people likely became infected while at the facility, which is located near George Bush Intercontinental Airport. He said the original source or sources who entered the country at the border likely were already infected when apprehended.

Some have already recovered from their bouts with the disease, including one who had to be hospitalized. People who came into contact with them were quarantined. No employees were infected.

Mumps is a highly contagious virus, most transmissible from a few days before the onset of symptoms until 10 days after. It typically starts with fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite, followed a few days later by swollen salivary glands. Most people recover without serious complication, though in rare cases, it can cause meningitis, hearing loss, some heart issues and miscarriage if contracted early in a pregnancy.

The disease has been increasing in numbers in recent years. Nationally, there were more than 6,000 cases in both 2016 and 2017, compared to under 1,000 in most previous years. In Texas, there were 191, 470 and 198 cases in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively, compared to 25 or less in most previous years.

Houston had two cases in Houston in 2017 but no others in the previous five years, Persse said.

The mumps cases come just a few days after confirmation of five measles cases in the area — three in Harris County, one in Montgomery County and one in Galveston County. Those cases were the latest in a number of clusters around the nation causing serious concern about a disease all but eradicated in the U.S. 20 years ago.

Beginning in the 1960s, vaccination made mumps much less common, but there have continued to be some outbreaks. The virus is not as contagious or dangerous as the measles.

The health department is working with the ICE facility on infection control methods and will conduct an on-site visit in coming days.

Persse attributed mumps' spread at the ICE detention facility to population density, not any conditions there. He said the transmission of viruses is always a significant concern in crowded spaces, such as emergency shelters for people displaced by hurricanes and floods. Mumps outbreaks involving dozens of patients shut down visitations at two Texas prisons for a period of time in late 2017.

ICE was nevertheless condemned by Pantsuit Republic, a liberal group, which noted mumps is preventable by vaccine. It stressed that such outbreaks are not new, citing an outbreak of 31 cases of measles at one of the federal agency's detention facility in Arizona two years ago.

Mumps usually can be prevented with two doses of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Children should receive the first dose at 12 to 15 months of age, and the second dose at 4 through 6 years of age. Two doses of the vaccine are 88 percent effective at preventing mumps, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Persse said the mumps outbreak at the ICE center transpired over a few weeks. He said health officials learned of the first case in early January.

todd.ackerman@chron.com

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