More than a dozen National Hockey League players have been infected with mumps since November this year.
Mumps is a viral disease which normally begins with fever, muscle aches, headache, loss of appetite and tiredness. These symptoms persist for a few days and are followed by swelling of salivary glands. Americans have been able to get vaccinated against mumps since 1967 and Canadians since 1969.
About 15 NHL players belonging to five teams, including high-profile player Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, have been confirmed to have been infected with the disease. Beau Bennett of the Pittsburgh Penguins is also suspected to have the disease. Two NHL officials are also infected with mumps. The first confirmed mumps cases were reported in three Anaheim Ducks players and since then about four more team members are believed to have been affected by the disease.
Experts suggest that mumps can spread from a person to another just by small droplets of mucus or saliva. These droplets can also remain on objects or surfaces which an infected person touches. Hockey players often share bottles of water and towels as well as locker rooms when they play or travel together. This phenomenon clarifies how players in the same team got the infection.
Medical experts also suggest that exhaling, spitting or yelling while being just a couple of feet away on ice can send droplets from an infected person to another, which explains that infected players may have given the disease to uninfected opponents.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that even though people started to get vaccines for mumps since 1967, 92 percent of Americans have been immunized, which means that 8 percent of Americans were not immunized for mumps.
While the mumps vaccine is extremely effective it does not offer complete protection. People who received one dose have 72 percent protection and people who received two dozes, the second one called a booster, have 88 percent protection against the disease. Moreover, immunity from the disease can dissipate over time.
Jonathan Weatherdon, a spokesman for the NHL players' union, revealed that the union is offering boosters and vaccinations to players. The union also suggests that it is educating players about safe sanitation and hygiene.
Chuck Fletcher, general manager of the Minnesota Wild, revealed that about 10 percent of its team contracted mumps. Fletcher revealed that as far as the team is aware, everybody received the mumps vaccination when they were young. However, all the team members have gotten immunized against mumps again.
"It's been a tough process to go through. We've tried to take every precaution possible. It's been a very difficult thing to get on top of, [but] I think we've done the best we can. We seem to have one player get it, a week off, and another player get it. It's been frustrating that way," says Fletcher.
The incubation period of mumps is 12 to 25 days, which means that more players may be infected with the disease but they are not aware of it. More players may be sidelined owing to mumps in the coming weeks.
