State Health Department Officials are downplaying Iowa’s increasing number of mumps cases as a deterrent to tourism. “Iowa, we lead the nation in mumps cases,” is not a slogan you’ll see anytime soon on the official state map, but nationwide headlines and news reports have trumpeted Iowa’s mumps outbreak.
Health Department Director Mary Mincer-Hansen says people don’t need to be afraid of Iowa. Mincer-Hansen says the Department has put together a “mass gathering policy” that gives people tips. Mincer-Hansen says they things they tell people outside the state are the same things they tell Iowans — be sure you have two doses of the mumps vaccine, and she says they are not recommending that people not come to Iowa. She says you can look at the mass gathering policy for tips on avoiding the mumps.
Mincer-Hansen says the mumps outbreak is not something that should keep people away. She says, “We’re encouraging tourism.” For more information on the mumps and the advice for tourists from the Health Department, surf to:www.idph.state.ia.us.