Seven more cases of the mumps have been confirmed this week at the College of Charleston after an outbreak of the virus was announced in September.

The total number of confirmed cases at the institution is 18. While most of these cases are not infectious, the college is expecting to see secondary cases of the virus at least until mid-November.

In response, the school and the state health department are advising people to get the two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine if they have not already received it. They also said it is still possible to get the virus even with the vaccine.

Students who recently got those vaccine doses are being asked to bring a copy of their vaccination record to the school's Student Health Services.

When applying to be a student at the College of Charleston, students either may turn over records showing they have received two doses of the vaccine or sign a waiver stating that they declined to get the vaccine.

Of the nearly 12,000 student medical records the school has on file, almost 200 students signed a vaccine waiver.

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After three cases of the virus were confirmed in September, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officially declared an outbreak of the mumps at the school. Those three cases involved both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

In its alert this week for the additional seven mumps cases, the school emphasized that it will not be altering class or operating schedules because of the new cases.

"To be clear, there is no scenario under which the College would close campus due to this outbreak," the school's statement said.

The mumps is a contagious disease caused by a virus of the same name. It is transmitted through air droplets from coughs and sneezes. Some of its symptoms include fatigue, headache, pelvic pain and swollen salivary glands.

These symptoms can show up any time between 12 and 25 days after a person is exposed to the virus, so the college expects to see more cases.