(REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)
The Illinois Department of Public Health is urging University of Illinois students to get vaccinated to help curb a growing mumps outbreak.
The department said in a news release Tuesday that 69 cases have been reported on the Urbana-Champaign campus and new infections continue to be seen. A week earlier about 50 cases were known. The department knows of 18 other cases around the state.
Director Nirav Shah says most of the infected people have received two rounds of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine but believes a third round could help control the outbreak.
The campus McKinley Health Center recommends that students planning to take classes this fall get a vaccine booster. Classes begin Aug. 24.
Mumps is a highly contagious viral illness characterized by swollen jaws and puffy cheeks.
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