Health officials are monitoring signs for mumps cases at Stewart Detention Center in Southern Georgia.
The all-male ICE facility is watching for new cases until mid-March, the end of the incubation period. There are no current cases, but there was an outbreak beginning in late December. Four cases were confirmed and seven probable — all cases were detainees, according the to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
There are several mumps outbreaks in detention centers across the country. The Georgia Department of Public Health says the one at Stewart is most likely the result of transfers from another facility.
About 300 vaccines were given to detainees and about 100 to employees at Stewart. The MMR vaccine protects against mumps, measles and rubella.
An ICE spokesman said detainees are medically screened when they first arrive at a detention center. “Each detainee receives a medical examination upon arrival at the facility to check for potential signs of illness, however ICE has no way of knowing what viruses a person may have been exposed to prior to entering the facility.”
