There has been one case of suspected mumps reported at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC), Campus Security announced in an email sent on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 3:06 p.m. Campus Security had previously announced that as of Feb. 19, there were eight cases of students with suspected mumps infections at Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) in a University wide email blast sent out on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 5:26 p.m.

Q&A with Director of Residential Life Jenifer Campbell
THE OBSERVER: What is Residential Life doing to prevent the spread of potential contamination and disease?
JC: There was an email message sent out about what you should do in terms of cleaning your hands and maintaining distance in terms of droplets. That is what the instructions are per the CDC and also University Health Services.
OBSERVER: Is the infection in [room number]?
JC: I can’t confirm that.
OBSERVER: Don’t you think that students have a right to know where contamination is most likely?
JC: I have to maintain a student’s privacy. If the student would like to share their information, they are free to do that, but I would not identify where.

A secondary request asking the floor on which the inflicted student lives on was not returned however The Observer has spoken with a resident on the 18th floor of McMahon who said that she and her suitemates were contacted earlier today by the Office of Residential Life regarding the mumps outbreak.

“They called us and said they had a suspected case,” she said.

“I did my laundry and went our for a few hours and I don’t know where she is,” the 18th floor resident said. “I don’t know if she is gone but if she is here, I want her to stay over there,” she said, pointing to her suitemate’s room.

Campbell would not confirm whether the case of mumps reported in the University-wide email blast was found on the 18th floor.

There are currently 13 suspected cases of the mumps at Fordham University.

Mumps is a viral infection that causes fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite and parotitis – swollen and tender salivary glands under the ears or jaw on one or both sides of the face.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mumps is “spread by droplets of saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose, or throat of an infected person, usually when the person coughs, sneezes, or talks.” Items used by a n infected person can also be contaminated with the virus. .

Students with mumps symptoms should contact the University Health Care Center for instruction before visiting their campus heath care center.

Though students at Fordham University are required to receive vaccinations that prevent mumps (among other diseases) before enrollment, “vaccinations do not offer 100 percent protection,” Campus Security said in a statement.