LEWISTON — Mumps outbreaks have been reported at Bates and Bowdoin colleges.

Bates spokesman Kent Fischer said eight of its Lewiston students have been diagnosed with the disease since the beginning of October. No students have an active infection now.

Two cases have been confirmed at Bowdoin in Brunswick. Those patients are “self-isolating,” spokesman Doug Cook said.

The Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention is aware of the outbreak and has been working with the schools.

According to the agency, 15 cases of mumps have been identified in Maine since January, most of them among college students. CDC spokeswoman Samantha Edwards said mumps cases are increasing at colleges across the United States. 

She said Bates College identified several cases of mumps in October and immediately started working with the Maine CDC to stop its spread. She said additional cases outside of Bates College are under investigation.

Mumps is a highly contagious virus best known for causing puffy cheeks and a swollen jaw. It is spread by coughing, sneezing, sharing a drinking glass and other items, and touching surfaces that have been touched by someone with the mumps.

An infected person can pass on the mumps days before showing symptoms.

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen and tender salivary glands, loss of appetite and fatigue. Symptoms usually appear 16 to 18 days after infection, but they can appear as soon as 12 days and as late at 25 days after infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most people recover within a few weeks.

Because children typically get vaccinated, mumps is uncommon in the United States, but 2,345 cases were reported to the national CDC between Jan. 1 and Oct. 8 this year. During the past school year, several outbreaks were reported on American college campuses, ranging from a small number of students to several hundred.

Both Bates and Bowdoin generally require students to be vaccinated against the mumps.

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