Our Blog

Over the last three weeks, more than a dozen cases of mumps have been confirmed in the Spokane community.  Gonzaga’s Health & Counseling Services office has received many questions about this and possible impact to our University community, so I want to take this opportunity to provide our parent and family community with some information on this situation.   (We shared the below information with our students, staff, and faculty via e-mail on January 12, 2017.)

We have been closely monitoring this situation in collaboration with the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD).  The majority of the reported cases have been in individuals 20 years of age or younger and SRHD has been actively involved in managing each of these cases to control spread of this illness.  While mumps is a viral illness and is contagious, the risk to the general community is typically very low. 

At present, the risk of this spreading beyond the diagnosed individuals remains low.  That being said, we will continue to closely monitor the situation and inform you if this risk changes.  

The vast majority of our student body is immunized against the mumps via the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine.  While the vaccine isn’t perfect, it’s a great measure to prevent the spread of this illness.  We do recommend that all members of our community take steps now to verify their own immunization status.

As always, we recommend that students, staff, and faculty use diligence with handwashing and general good hygiene practices, such as covering your mouth when you cough. 

For your own knowledge, the signs and symptoms of the mumps are listed below.  If you are concerned that your student has any of these symptoms, please refer them to Health & Counseling Services.  We are located at 704 E. Sharp (corner of Sharp and Dakota).  Our office is available at 509-313-4052 or studenthealth@gonzaga.edu.   

  • Fever
  • Headache
  • Muscle aches
  • Tiredness
  • Loss of appetite
  • Swollen and tender salivary glands under the ears on one or both sides (parotitis)

Thank you for your care and caution during this time as well as throughout the cold and flu season.  If you have any questions, please contact me at 509-313-4067 or skiles@gonzaga.edu.

Comments are closed.