Mumps in NHL: How the heck did this happen and can it be stopped? (F.A.Q.)

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins was formally diagnosed with the mumps last week, bringing one of the NHL’s strangest medical stories in years to the forefront of hockey conversation.

What are we dealing with? How did it get this out of hand? Where did it start?

Here’s are those and other frequently asked questions about the mumps.

Q. What is a mump?

Not one mump, many mumps. The mumps are a viral infection that “affects the parotid glands — one of three pairs of saliva-producing (salivary) glands, situated below and in front of your ears,” according to the Mayo Clinic.

That’s where painful swelling occurs, resulting in what we saw with Crosby, who looked like a Squirrel-man keeping a cantaloupe in his cheek for the winter.

There’s also fever, headaches and fatigue. Extreme cases can include the infection spreading to the testicles or ovaries, potentially causing infertility, and potentially even meningitis if the disease spreads to the outer protective layer of the brain.

So, in summary: Adorable name – it sounds like an animated pop band comprised entirely of puppies – but some serious consequences if it gets out of hand.

As Francois Beauchamin said, "Mumps has to be the worst thing I've ever had in my life.” And keep in mind he spent two seasons dealing with the Toronto media.

Q. OK, so how does one prevent or treat the mumps?

Two different issues, so let’s tackle the second one first: There is not cure for it, so the only treatment is enough rest and fluids to allow the body to ante-up enough antibodies to knock it out.

As far as prevention, we’ve had a Mumps vaccine for decades. The ‘ole MMR – Mumps, Measles and Rubella shot – are typically administered early in life (around one year old) and then again before starting school (age five). In the pre-vaccination days, 90 percent of all children had the mumps before they turned 14. In 2013, the CDC reported there were only 584 cases of mumps reported in the U.S., although that number spiked to 1,078 through Nov. 29 this year.

Perhaps the only surprise there is that the majority of those cases were not in the NHL.

Q. Now that you’ve mentioned it … why the heck have the mumps cut through the NHL like a Darcy Tucker spearing?

How much time you got?

Q. I’m reading this at lunch, as I do most stories of wide outbreaks of nauseating viral infections.

It spreads through the salvia, mostly. So one theory is the old “don’t share your water bottle” mantra has been summarily ignored. Another is that players exchange bodily fluids on the ice all game, so that’s where it’s been passed, through coughing or sneezing or spitting.

Q. Ew.

The ice during an NHL game is a petri dish of disgusting. It’s a miracle that by the end of each period, new lifeforms aren’t emerging from its primordial soup.

But there’s another issue with the Mumps: According to Dr. Peter Lin of CBC, it can take up to 2-3 weeks for the disease to manifest but you’re still contagious during that time. Which brings us back to something like sharing water bottles, because a teammate who looks completely healthy could be a Mump Factory.

Q. But isn’t everyone immunized? Weren’t some players, like Olympians like Sidney Crosby, immunized earlier this year?

Yes and yes. But it may not matter.

Matt McCarthy had a great piece on the Mumps outbreak on Deadspin, writing:

Mumps outbreaks are rare, so updating the vaccination schedule hasn't really been on our radar. But it may soon be. Throwing a wrench into all of this is that some players with the disease recently did receive a booster. The Penguins claim Crosby was vaccinated against mumps in February; he had antibodies in his system, just not enough. And that's what makes this so challenging for the NHL (or any concentrated workplace). There isn't a simple blood test to confirm with 100 percent certainty that a hockey player (or any person) is truly immune to mumps. That's because the optimal level of antibody to protect from the virus is unknown. NHL teams assumed players were immune when, in fact, they were not.

During the 2006 outbreak, more than 95% of students at one university had been vaccinated against mumps and researchers could not identify a threshold antibody level that correlated with protection. Some got it, some didn't. Yes, it's better to have a lot neutralizing antibodies rather than no antibodies, but we can't say precisely how much you'll need to be safe the next time mumps hits your town. Or your ice rink.

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