Unexpected Mumps Outbreak on NHL

In an unexpected mumps outbreak that is plaguing the NHL, nine players on three teams have contracted the disease this season.

The NHL players diagnosed with the mumps are Ryan Suter, Keith Ballard, Marco Scandella, Jonas Brodin and Christian Folin of the Minnesota Wild; Corey Perry, Clayton Stoner and Francois Beauchemin of the Anaheim Ducks; and Tanner Glass of the New York Rangers.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the mumps is a viral illness that is spread through the air or direct contact with saliva or mucus from someone who is infected. Its symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue and swollen salivary glands.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league was caught off guard by the sudden mumps outbreak, and is working to contain it by being in contact with team doctors and training staffs about best practices to prevent the spread of mumps, writes TSN.

"It is certainly an outbreak that was unexpected and has caused unwanted disruption at the team level, but it is not something we have any significant control over. As long as our clubs are doing what they need to do to minimize risk of contraction, we are hopeful that the wave of cases will run their course and life will return to normal in the relatively near term."

Nine out of some 600 players acquiring the mumps cannot exactly be called an epidemic, but the number represents a large percentage considering that only 584 cases of the illness were reported in the U.S. last year, according to the Chicago Tribune.