An ongoing mumps outbreak, which is the worst mumps outbreak in the U. S. since an 11-state outbreak which sickened 2,597 people from December 2005 to May 2006.

About 1,521 people in New York and New Jersey remain affected.

An 11-year-old boy is the ‘Patient Zero’ who got infected with mumps while on a visit to Great Britain. He got the symptoms at a summer camp which was for Orthodox Jewish boys. It was then that campers and staff took the disease back to their communities.

Reports say that 19 people are admitted to hospitals but no case of death is reported. Complications are seen in several cases with about 55 cases of swollen testicles, two cases of meningitis, five cases of pancreatitis, temporary deafness was seen in one case, one case of Bell's palsy, and one has got inflamed ovaries.

Despite of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine the infections have taken place. About 85 per cent cases in patients aged 7 to 18 had got vaccinated, this is the group that had the most cases.

Epidemiologist Kathleen Gallagher, DSc, MPH, the CDC's team leader for measles, mumps, and rubella, said, "Two doses of mumps vaccine is believed to be 90 per cent to 95 per cent effective. But that means people can still get mumps. If the vaccine is 90 per cent effective and 100 people are exposed to mumps, 10 will get the disease."

Due to the fears prevalent in the U. K., that MMR vaccine could cause autism the vaccination rate remained low which is the cause of the outbreak.