A suspected case of mumps caused an Anchorage middle school to cancel extracurricular activities for the day and to disinfect its facility and buses as “a necessary step of caution,” according to a message sent out to families Thursday morning.
The message, which was signed by Romig Middle School principal Carrie Sumner, said the school and district “were made aware this morning that a member of our Romig community is being tested for a suspected case of mumps.”
Mumps is vaccine-preventable and relatively uncommon in Alaska and in the U.S. In 2023, just one case was reported in the state, and just 436 cases were reported nationwide, though those numbers have been steadily increasing nationwide over the last several years, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An Anchorage School District spokesperson did not respond to questions about whether it was a student or staff member with the suspected case of the illness, whether there were any potential close contacts who were also being tested for the illness, and whether the district was aware of any other recent cases of mumps among students or staff.
No lab-confirmed cases of mumps have been reported to the state health department so far this year, according to Dr. Louisa Castrodale, an epidemiologist with the Alaska Department of Health.
Anyone who is a close contact of someone who tests positive for mumps should self-isolate and get tested by a health care provider, Michelle Fehribach, a spokesperson with the Anchorage Health Department, wrote in an email.
Tests usually take 3-5 days to be processed, Fehribach said.