Families of students at Metairie Academy are nervous after the school announced the children were exposed to mumps.
Parents were notified a person with mumps could have exposed others to the illness at a gala held at the school last Saturday. The highly contagious disease is easily spread when people cough or sneeze and common symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite and swollen salivary glands.
Mumps can be prevented with a vaccine, but the CDC estimates about 12 percent of vaccinated people still get the mumps.
The school is warning parents to watch for the symptoms to surface around 16 days after exposure.
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