The HSE is doubling down on its warning for parents in Galway after a recent increase in recorded cases.
Parents in Claregalway have been notified that a number of students at a school in the town showed mumps like symptoms.
It comes after the Health Service Executive issued a warning last month about an uptick of mumps cases in the west of Ireland.
At the time the HSE said that 45 people aged 15-29 had been diagnosed with the virus throughout the western region.
Mumps is an acute viral illness, symptoms of which can include fever, headache, fatigue, and a painful swelling of the glands.
Though not life-threatening in and of itself, mumps can lead to the more serious meningitis, and can have complications that cause infertility later in life.
The HSE says the MMR vaccine is the best way to protect yourself against mumps, and is advising anyone who is uncertain if they’ve been immunised to consult their GP as soon as possible, as it can take up to 28 days for the anitbodies to take affect.
Children who present with mumps symptoms should be kept out of school for at least five days after swelling of the neck shows up.
Mumps can be spread through coughing, sneezing, or any other contact with the saliva of an infected person.
Health Officials caution that a person may be infectious even before the swelling or other symptoms.
