A mumps epidemic has a lot to teach colleges about reopening safely in the time of coronavirus

A mumps epidemic has a lot to teach colleges about reopening safely in the time of coronavirus - STAT A mumps outbreak that tore through several Massachusetts colleges in the spring of 2016 offers lessons for those facing Covid-19. Patrick Skerrett STAT

Mumps tore through the Harvard University campus in the spring of 2016. As a reportable disease that has been relatively manageable since a vaccine was approved in 1967, mumps serves as a warning of how viruses can spread rapidly — and in unexpected ways — with lessons for understanding SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

Dormitory residents, dining hall staff, athletes, and health services nursing staff all came down with mumps. A commencement event infected Harvard affiliates who went on to seed an outbreak in a neighboring community. Mumps continued to spread in 2017, rattling several college campuses across Massachusetts.

Colleges and universities across the country are now facing an existential threat from Covid-19. As institutions with so-called congregate living facilities — close living quarters, crowded classrooms, and communal dining facilities — not to mention a dose of risky social behaviors, administrators across the country shut their doors to students last spring. Many are now deep in efforts to reopen safely. The response of higher ed institutions to the Massachusetts mumps outbreak — in particular, those in Boston, a city of 110 institutions of higher learning and 60 residential colleges — can serve as a blueprint for addressing the current situation with Covid-19.

During and after the mumps outbreaks, our Harvard-based research team worked closely with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and numerous affected colleges to generate genomic data to characterize the mumps virus, investigate its spread in the area, and develop a plan to keep vulnerable campuses — and the communities around them — safe. We learned six key lessons from this experience that can also be applied to reopening colleges and universities in the time of coronavirus. ...