--- description: Texas has seen 221 cases of mumps this year, some of which were linked to South Padre Island title: The Number of Mumps Cases in Texas Just Hit a 20-Year High image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f03d6de0a5d3f4a/6988c2cccd1bba47ac704b7e/gettyimages-481681421.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Public Health](/tag/public-health/) ## Public Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Number of Mumps Cases in Texas Just Hit a 20-Year High by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2017 2:39 PM CUT  Reportage in the Health and Prevention Centre run by the local committee for social hygiene (CDHS) in Lyon, France. MMR vaccination. Priorix immunises against measles, mumps and rubella. (Photo by: BSIP/UIG via Getty Images) Reportage in the Health and Prevention Centre run by the local committee for social hygiene (CDHS) in Lyon, France. MMR vaccination. Priorix immunises against measles, mumps and rubella. (Photo by: BSIP/UIG via Getty Images)Photograph by BSIP/UIG—Getty Images by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2017 2:39 PM CUT Cases of [mumps](http://time.com/4311680/mumps-harvard-graduation/ "undefined") have hit a 20-year high in [Texas](http://time.com/4693808/texas-bathroom-bill-hearing/ "undefined") and health care providers should be on alert, according to the [Texas Department of State Health Services.](https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news/releases/2017/20170412.aspx "undefined") The state has seen 221 cases of [mumps](http://time.com/39859/rise-of-the-mumps/ "undefined") this year, the most since it had 234 cases in 1994, according to the release. Health officials in Texas are looking into outbreaks, including possible exposure on South Padre Island, which is a popular spring break destination for college students. The Texas DSHS said 13 people who travelled to South Padre island between March 8 and 22 were infected with mumps. The state health department noted that the disease is “highly contagious” and that vaccination is the best mode of prevention. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4739999/mumps-texas-cases-record/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4739999/mumps-texas-cases-record/"},"headline":"The Number of Mumps Cases in Texas Just Hit a 20-Year High","datePublished":"2017-04-14T14:39:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:24:53.661Z","description":"Texas has seen 221 cases of mumps this year","url":"https://time.com/4739999/mumps-texas-cases-record/","keywords":["Public Health","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f03d6de0a5d3f4a/6988c2cccd1bba47ac704b7e/gettyimages-481681421.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Marie Segarra","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f03d6de0a5d3f4a/6988c2cccd1bba47ac704b7e/gettyimages-481681421.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"mumps-texas-outbreak","caption":"mumps","creditText":"Photograph by BSIP/UIG—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"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/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4739999/mumps-texas-cases-record/","name":"The Number of Mumps Cases in Texas Just Hit a 20-Year High"}}]}] ```