Many late night talk show hosts make fun of the Iowa Mumps outbreak, but it is serious business as Iowa hasn’t seen these kind of cases in decades.  Mumps are  largely rare as vaccine all but wiped mumps out years ago.

Nobody knows why the Iowa mumps epidemic has returned, or when it will end.  Many in Florida have asked if they can get it.  Chances are the virus is isolated, although it has spread to Illinois, Nebraska and MInnesota.

The MMR vaccine is 95% effective, and many people received two doses when children.  Some only received one.  College kids are the most likely to be infected, and the CDC doesn’t seem to know why.

For all intents and purposes, most experts seem to think Mumps is a Iowa problem for now and the rest of the nation shouldn’t worry too much about it.  If you frequently travel to the midwest and symptoms of mumps occur, check it out.