Officials warn of mumps outbreak in the suburbs

FOX 32 NEWS - An outbreak of mumps at Barrington High School and three other surrounding schools is prompting action.

It takes three cases for an "outbreak" to be declared. At Barrington High School, there are now three confirmed cases of mumps - not to mention close to 30 other possible cases in the area.

Cases of the highly contagious disease are on the rise at four schools in Lake County.

The health department says there are 27 possible cases spread throughout Prairie and Station middle schools and Libertyville High School. There are three confirmed cases at Barrington High School.

There is a confirmed case in city of Barrington and another probable case in Lake Zurich.

"Not terribly concerned, but I'm kind of surprised to see how many cases there are in Barrington,” said parent Melissa Proepsting.

Parents that FOX 32 spoke to say school officials are staying on top of the new information, putting some parents at ease.

"As of today I had two email regarding it so I think they are doing everything they can, but I think if parents are truly concerned about this they should call their physician,” said parent Michele Spinell.

School officials are warning parents to look out for symptoms, which include swelling or pain close to the jaw, or one or both sides of the face, in addition to a fever, sore throat and headache

Mumps is a serious contagious disease which is usually spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes or simply talks.

Because of that, school officials say cleaning is a top priority.

"We've done some thorough cleaning of our facilities, especially over the weekend when no one was in the building, we were cleaning with a bleach based solution and focusing on the high touch areas like door knobs, bathrooms tables and chairs,” said Morgan Delack of Barrington School District 220.

Health officials recommend children and adults get vaccinated. Vaccinations at school are required, but there are religious exemptions.