Initially one case was reported, the Dunedin-based student’s case of the infectious being verified this week.
This afternoon the university advised of another case.
Student Health said the viral disease was easily spread, and urged any student who suspected they might have the disease to stay at home and call them or Healthline.
Mumps - What you need to know
How you get it
Mumps is spread through the air from person to person by coughing and sneezing, and by direct contact with infected saliva.
The incubation period (time from infection to onset of symptoms) is on average 16-18 days, and can range from 2-4 weeks. A person with mumps may be infectious from seven days before the salivary glands swell until five days after. People without symptoms are also contagious.
Symptoms
Most children under two years of age have no symptoms when they get mumps. Those who get mumps as an adult are more likely to experience severe disease.
When symptoms are present they usually include; fever, headache, malaise, muscle aches, poor appetite, swelling and tenderness of one or more salivary glands (just below the ear lobe). However, some people have symptoms in organs other than the salivary glands. For example mumps meningitis may present as headache, sensitivity to light, neck stiffness, fever and/or vomiting.
On average, fever usually lasts one to six days, but salivary gland swelling can last for more than 10 days. It usually takes 6-18 days from exposure to the first symptom, ranging from 12-25 days.
*Information from the Immunisation Advisory Centre
