--- description: Sidney Crosby became the latest NHL player to receive a diagnosis for mumps in an outbreak of a disease typically prevented by vaccination. title: Sidney Crosby NHL Mumps: Outbreak Grows image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Infectious Disease](/tag/infectious-disease/) ## Infectious Disease Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # NHL Mumps Outbreak Grows With Sidney Crosby Diagnosis  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 15, 2014 10:25 PM CUT  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 15, 2014 10:25 PM CUT Sidney Crosby became the latest National Hockey League player to receive a positive diagnosis for mumps in an unusual outbreak of the disease which is typically prevented by vaccination. The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Crosby’s diagnosis Sunday and on Monday said that the two-time NHL MVP was no longer infectious. “He probably could have been here today, but we took an extra day to be cautious,” said team manager Jim Rutherford. “As far as I know, he will return tomorrow or the next day.” The mumps outbreak, which has infected at least 13 NHL players and two referees, is odd given that most U.S. residents receive a vaccine for the disease, which causes headache, fever and swelling of the salivary glands. Crosby reportedly received a vaccination for the disease as recently as this February, according to the Penguins. Still, [doctors](http://regressing.deadspin.com/why-the-nhl-lost-control-of-its-mumps-outbreak-1670727885 "undefined") say that the effectiveness of the vaccine can wear off over time, and hockey players may be particularly susceptible to the disease given the exchange of saliva during heavy hits. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3634559/nhl-mumps-crosby/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3634559/nhl-mumps-crosby/"},"headline":"NHL Mumps Outbreak Grows With Sidney Crosby Diagnosis","datePublished":"2014-12-15T22:25:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:52:37.788Z","description":"At least 13 NHL players and two referees were infected in the outbreak","url":"https://time.com/3634559/nhl-mumps-crosby/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","Sports topic","Disease","hockey","health","nhl","mumps"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3634559/nhl-mumps-crosby/","name":"NHL Mumps Outbreak Grows With Sidney Crosby Diagnosis"}}]}] ```