I am Maureen Cavanaugh. It's Tuesday, March 15. Here are some of the San Diego stories we are following in the newsroom. A 12-year-old girl was injured this morning in a hit-and-run crash in El Cajon. The accident occurred on 270 near avocado Avenue. The severity of the injuries are unknown. She was taking to Rady Children's Hospital for treatment. If retreatment derailed this morning and barrio Logan. It happened in the vicinity of Harbor Drive and Cesar Chavez Parkway for unknown reasons. No injuries were reported. Smaller charter schools in San Diego will no longer have to obtain costly and time-consuming conditional use permits before beginning operations. Conditional use permits can cost tens of thousands of dollars and take up to two years to obtain. The change was among numerous amendments approved Monday by the city Council. More than 100 students are scheduled to compete today in the 47th annual San Diego Union Tribune countywide spelling bee. The winter will represent San Diego at the national event in Washington DC. Listen for the latest news to the day here on KPBS. Back first in the news, free vaccinations are being offered in San Diego University campus. To stop an outbreak of the mumps. Students have recently been diagnosed with the virus. Joining me is Doctor Wilma Wooten, public health officer for San Diego County. Doctor wouldn't welcome to the show. Enqueue so much. Are you looking at how this began? With any cases identified we also -- always try to find contact. This time, we don't have that information. We don't know where this exposure occurred. But our primary focus is trying to ensure that there is no additional spread of the infection. With the students who contracted mumps vaccinated against it? The most of them were vaccinated. One was not. The second case last week was not vaccinated. Do you expect more students will contract the virus? We have to wait and see. Again, our primary goal is try to prevent the spread. That is why we are conducting the max -- mass vaccinations. These help prevent anyone who has not been exposed and infected. The vaccines do not help those who have already been exposed and infected. We are trying to prevent further spread. How contagious is the mumps? Mumps is very contagious. It's right up there after measles and chickenpox. It is highly contagious. Again, the reason we're conducting these mass vaccinations. Where are these immunization clinics at USD? Will they be moving around campus? The will be conducted on the campus. The location has been determined by the administration. We are providing several vaccination clinics this week so that people have options based on their availability. I have been speaking with County public health officer Dr. Wilma Wooten. Thank you . Thank you so much. For more about the moms and how serious it can be, KPBS health reporter spoke with Dr. Ellen Rodarte with Sharp Rees-Stealy Del Mar Family Medicine Dr. Rodarte, what are some of the symptoms of the mumps? The mumps is like other viral, fever, headaches, body aches. The real marker of the moms a couple days in, people get very swollen glands in their neck. They are the salivary glands. Those get big and small one. That is the big indicator that you have the mumps. How unpleasant as it? It is interesting. For children it is not isn't pleasant. Unfortunately, nowadays, it is your adults who get it. When young adults get it, it is a more uncomfortable illness. The swollen glands can be uncomfortable. In some patients about eight days later, they can get swelling of the gonads, and that can be uncomfortable also. How common is that complication? It is about 20%. It depends on if the folks who get it have been immunized or not. Folks who are immunized usually do not get as many complications. But about more serious complication of the mumps? What are those? There are some more unfortunate serious complications. Most to find they are uncomfortable for couple days. Then they recover. But some fools will get swelling of the brain, swelling of the testicles, and then one of the tragic ones that used to hit earlier generations was deftness -- deafness. Is there any way to tell who will get the complications? Not really. The problems with the monks -- mumps is that it is very infectious. They can spread it before they even have the mumps. That is why it is so important that people get immunized before being exposed so they don't get it. If someone had the mumps is a child or they had been fully vaccinated, what is the chance that they could get the mumps in later life? If they have had to immunizations, they are about 88% protected. It is a good immunization, but it is not perfect. So if all immunizations, it is really important that we have everyone immunized. That helps protect everyone. We don't make perfect immunizations. They don't protect everyone 100% of the time. That is why 100% of the people need to get immunized, then we can rely on heard immunity so folks are protected. With wheezing among you practice among young people getting their vaccinations? The immunization for the moms is part of the MMR. It is one of those immunizations that there is some resistance to, which is unfortunate. I tell my patients it is my favorite immunization. It protects against measles, which is very infectious, mumps, and rubella. We don't talk much about rubella. At it is a terrible disease. It affects children in the uterus and has terrible outcomes. Even though people are resistant getting MMR, sometimes it is one of the best immunizations we have. I encourage my patients to get it. Dr. Rodarte , along to take after being vaccinated against the mumps to gain community? Unfortunately, that can take three weeks to four weeks. If you are exposed to the mumps, it can also take two weeks to three weeks to get. Tips. Once an outbreak -- in outbreak settings like USD, we immunize everyone we can. But they are not going to be protected for a month. So the key is to get immunized before. To your regular childhood immunizations just like your pediatrician or physician recommends. We've been speaking with Dr. Ellen Rodarte family medicine physician at Sharp Rees-Stealy Del Mar Family Medicine. I am Kenny Goldberg . This is Midday Edition on KPBS.
Three more University of San Diego undergraduate students tested positive for mumps, on top of two others reported last week, county health officials reported Monday.
The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency said the three had close contact with the student who was originally diagnosed with the highly contagious virus. It's unknown where the first student was exposed to the disease.
Two or three mumps cases are found in San Diego County each year, mostly in people who had been traveling.
"Several colleges and universities across the country are currently having mumps outbreaks," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer. "Spring break is going to bring an opportunity for this disease to spread, so students should be sure they are up to date with mumps and all other recommended vaccines."
Agency officials said two free vaccination clinics will be held on campus this week for undergraduate students. More information is available by calling (619) 260-4595, or by going to the USD health center website.
Mumps is spread by coughing, sneezing or close contact with an infected person. The virus causes a fever, headache, earache, and inflammation of the salivary glands that results in swelling and tenderness at the angle of the jaw.
Severe complications are rare, but can include meningitis, decreased fertility, permanent hearing loss, and, in extreme cases, fetal loss during the first trimester of pregnancy. Most people recover without problems.
According to the HHSA, the best way to prevent mumps is by getting the MMR — measles, mumps and rubella — vaccine.
Two doses of the vaccine are recommended — one at 12 to 15 months of age and another at 4 to 6 years of age. A third booster shot is recommended for those in close living conditions when there is an outbreak.
