Students at University College have been advised to “take precautions” to stop the spread of a recent outbreak of mumps.
In an email sent to all students, Univ’s Disability and Welfare Administrator, Aimee Rhead, said that those who were experiencing symptoms were to “stay in his or her room, and contact the College Nurse.”
The college also encouraged students who were diagnosed with the infection to “arrange for a parent or someone else to bring him or her home until he or she is no longer contagious.”
Infected students unable to leave their room were told to “ask a friend to bring you food and leave it outside your room.”
An anonymous second-year Univ student told Cherwell: “College seem to be monitoring it pretty closely”.
In May 2017, an outbreak of mumps occurred in colleges across the University, causing disruption to exams and sports fixtures.
At the time, Cherwell reported that as many as several dozen students were affected across the University, including major outbreaks at Exeter, Corpus Christi, and St Anne’s.
Mumps is a contagious viral infection that used to be common in children before the introduction of the MMR vaccine.
It is known to give painful swellings at the side of the face under the ears, giving a person with mumps a distinctive ‘hamster face’ appearance.
Mumps usually passes without causing serious damage to a person’s health. However, in rare instances it can lead to viral meningitis.
University College did not respond to a request for comment.
