Industry News
A number of Keystone Ski Resort, CO employees have tested positive for mumps, confirms The Colorado Department of Health and Environment. Health officials said there is a minimal risk to members of the public who have visited the ski area.
“Keystone Resort has been fully cooperating and closely coordinating with Summit County Public Health to support affected employees and protect all staff and the public,” said Sara Lopez, nursing manager for Summit County Public Health.
People may want to check their vaccine status to ensure they are protected against mumps. The MMR Vaccine, which covers measles, mumps, and rubella is considered 88 percent effective at preventing mumps from spreading.
Mumps is a viral disease caused by the mumps virus. Initial signs and symptoms often include fever, muscle pain, headache, poor appetite, and feeling generally unwell. This is then usually followed by painful swelling of one or both parotid salivary glands. Symptoms typically occur 16 to 18 days after exposure and resolve after 7 to 10 days. Symptoms are often more severe in adults than in children. About a third of people have mild or no symptoms.
Mumps is highly contagious and spreads rapidly among people living in close quarters. The virus is transmitted by respiratory droplets or direct contact with an infected person. Only humans get and spread the disease. People are infectious from about 7 days before the onset of parotid inflammation to about 8 days after. Once an infection has run its course, a person is typically immune for life.
Last summer an outbreak of mumps in Colorado was traced back to Arapahoe Basin Ski Area.
For more information about mumps, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at www.cdc.gov/mumps. For information about mumps data in Colorado, visit www.colorado.gov/cdphe/mumps.
