Only one case of the mumps has been reported and tested positive at Oswego State so far.

No other students have come to Mary Walker Health Center with symptoms that resemble the mumps, according to Angela Brown, director of student health services.

“I think the campus is doing well,” Brown said. “Students have been very accepting to information and we have had all positive student contact.”

When the student was tested, it became the first documented case of mumps on the Oswego State campus.

“I hope we can further educate students on the signs and symptoms [of mumps],” Brown said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, mumps is a contagious viral disease that starts with a few days of fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, a loss of appetite and swollen salivary glands.

“Mumps is no longer very common in the United States, but outbreaks continue to occur,” according to the CDC’s website. “Outbreaks have most commonly occurred in places where people have had prolonged, close contact with a person who has mumps, such as attending the same class, playing on the same sports team, or living in the same dormitory.”

The CDC said that the vaccines prevent most, but not all cases of the mumps. Both MMR vaccines give about an 88 percent immunity from the diseases.

Even though it is a requirement provide proof of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine on campus, due to religious and medical reasons, students can be exempt. 

Oswego State President Deborah Stanley sent a campus-wide email on Sept. 14 addressing the situation. In the email, Stanley stated that the Health Department elevated Oswego State to an outbreak status in light of the mumps outbreak in New York State.

“Per New York State law, those students who elect not to receive the vaccination, need to be excluded from campus by Friday, Sept. 16, 2016 at 4 p.m. and remain off campus for a period of 26 days,” the email read. “…I assure you that we will be closely monitoring this one case and the health of our entire campus over the next several days, weeks and throughout the semester.”

Students who had previously been exempt from receiving the MMR vaccination also received a call from Mary Walker Health Center in the evening on Sept. 14 saying that they had until the upcoming Friday to receive the vaccine, or they would be required to leave campus.

For Samantha Jaworowicz, a freshman, the decision to receive the vaccine was not easy.

“I don’t really have a choice but to get the vaccine, even though it goes against everything,” Jaworowicz said.

Jaworowicz was normally exempt from receiving the vaccine for religious reasons. She said leaving during her third week of college as she is adjusting to college life is not something she wants to do.

“They did what they had to do as far as the law,” Jaworowicz said. “But they suspected there was a case and should have warned us about what would happen, so we would have had more time to think and to choose what to do.”

According to Brown, 15 students had not received one or both of the MMR vaccinations. Two students decided to leave the campus for 26 days instead of getting vaccinated.

Associate Provost for Undergraduate and Special Programs Rameen Mohammadi has started working with those students to come up with a plan to not fall behind in their academics.

“The students can’t return until early October,” Mohammadi said. “In most cases, faculty can help the student get through this period and complete the semester successfully.”

Jaworowicz was unhappy that the administration did not give students much time to decide whether or not to get the vaccination.

“They only gave me a day to talk to my parents and decide what to do,” Jaworowicz said. “We didn’t get much warning about what we had to do and it isn’t the simplest thing when it’s your beliefs on the line.”