New Jersey Jail Quarantined, Several Inmates Believed To Have The Mumps
HACKENSACK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — As previously vaccinated illnesses like the measles and typhoid are making a comeback across the nation, New Jersey's prison population may be the next victims of a highly contagious disease.
Officials have placed the Bergen County Jail under quarantine as they investigate suspected cases of mumps among their inmates.
Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco said Tuesday that the first case was discovered a day earlier at the facility.
The county sheriff's office later said five inmates have been diagnosed by their symptoms. They are awaiting tests to confirm the outbreak.
The quarantine means no new inmates will be accepted for at least 25 days.
Those at the jail who need a vaccination will receive one.
Mumps can spread quickly through coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include swollen glands, fever, headache and muscle aches.
Earlier this year, thousands of people at immigration detention centers in Louisiana and Colorado who were exposed to mumps were quarantined.
It is not immediately known how the inmates became infected however, the illness is vaccinated against using the same MMR shot used to also defend patients from the measles and rubella.
Health officials say the spread of misinformation regarding vaccinations has caused one of the worst outbreaks of the measles in a generation. The CDC reports that there are now over 1,000 confirmed cases of the measles in the United States; most are centered in the Tri-state area.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
