The Ponca City Public School district was notified by the Kay County Health Department Monday that a student has a confirmed case of mumps. 

The Kay County Health Department has sent a letter home with students who shared a classroom with the infected student. 

“Fortunately, the Health Department believes that based upon what we know about mumps and the infected child, it is unlikely the child was infectious while attending school," Superintendent Dr. David Pennington said. "The Health Department will share information with parents on how to recognize the symptoms of mumps and what steps to take if a parent or guardian suspects that their child might have mumps.  A copy of the letter and information shared with parents will be posted on the school district website, www.pcps.us.”

Mumps is a contagious disease caused by a virus.  The best way to protect anyone from the mumps and the complications caused by the disease is to make sure they have received the MMR vaccination.  The MMR vaccination prevents most, but not all, cases of mumps. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, two doses of the MMR vaccine is 88 percent effective in protecting against mumps; one dose is 78 percent effective.  This means it is possible for a student to have received the vaccination and still contract the disease. 

Like any virus, the best way to prevent the spread of mumps is to practice healthy habits: wash your hands, use gloves when dealing with bodily fluids, cover your mouth when sneezing, etc.

“I am sure like many of you, until today I thought mumps was a disease from the past," Pennington said.  “What I have learned is since the mumps vaccination program started in 1967, there has been a 99% decrease in mumps cases.  However, even with the vaccination program, mumps outbreaks still occur.  As of Sept. 16, the Centers for Disease Control has reported 1,897 cases of mumps in 44 states.  To learn more about mumps, I encourage you to visit the CDC website, https://www.cdc.gov/mumps, or the Oklahoma State Department of Health, https://www.ok.gov/health2/documents/Mumps.pdf.”

“The safety and health of students and staff is the highest priority of the school district," Pennington said.  "We will always do everything we can to ensure the health of our students and staff.  We will always follow the directives of the State and Kay County Health Departments, and we will respect the privacy rights of students and staff.”

For more information, contact the Kay County Health Department in Ponca City at 580-762-1641 or Blackwell at 580-363-5520.