There have been 12 reported cases of mumps in Gainesville, Florida, according to a spokesperson for the Alachua County Health Department Friday.
Mumps is a viral infection that primarily affects saliva-producing (salivary) glands that are located near your ears. Mumps can cause swelling in one or both of these glands, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
Many of the reported cases have been associated with The University of Florida, and all of those cases were by people that have received the mumps vaccination, the spokesperson said.
The Alachua County Health Department believes that some of the cases are connected and most likely resulted from sharing some sort of container.
The Alachua County Health Department usually sees an average of zero to two mumps cases.
There have been no reported cases of mumps in Duval County, according to the Duval County Health Department.
For more information about mumps, click here to go to The Florida Health Department's website.