Harimpur Health Dept Sounds Alarm as 35 Cases of Mumps Reported in Children in Himachal District

HARIMPUR, HIMACHAL PRADESH: Reacting to the rapid spread of mumps amongst children aged 5-10, Harimpur Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr RK Agnihotri, on Sunday, urged doctors and healthcare officials to take special precautions while prescribing medicines or giving advice to patients. As of Sunday, Harimpur has reported 35 cases of mumps across several schools, with reports on Saturday that health officials visited 50 schools to check the health of students. Agnihotri advised that once the disease is detected in a child, they should be isolated at home for a period of five days while also frequently washing their hands, avoiding crowded places, using a mask and refraining from any self-treatment attempts, instead contacting a doctor. 

As for symptoms to watch out for, mumps is a viral disease that affects the salivary glands and it is the infection of these glands that manifests in symptoms such as fatigue, muscle pain, loss of appetite, headaches, fever and pain in chewing. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the symptoms of mumps typically manifest anytime between 12-25 days after the initial infection.   

With inputs from PTI.