NHL mumps outbreak not a concern in Winnipeg minor hockey leagues

A mumps outbreak is winding its way through the NHL, but minor hockey officials and parents in Winnipeg say they're not concerned about it coming to the city at this point.

Concerns about the mumps are growing this week as more NHL players are diagnosed with the disease, including Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby.

• Sidney Crosby diagnosed with the mumps
• Anaheim Ducks, team at centre of NHL mumps outbreak, in Winnipeg

Hockey Manitoba says it's monitoring the mumps situation, but executive Peter Woods says he's currently not worried.

"It's not something that is on our radar. We will certainly monitor and we will follow it as it goes along," Woods told CBC News late Monday.

"If we have to establish a policy, whether this or any other type of viruses, then certainly we will do so."

Dr. Merril Pauls, an emergency room physician whose son, Alex, plays on a minor hockey team, says he's not too concerned, either.

"As far as I'm aware, there's no mumps locally here in Winnipeg or around our community," Pauls said.

"We made sure he's got his immunization, and I know that's not a guarantee. I guess we always warn him about things like sharing water bottles and things like that, but I'm not too, too worried about it."

Crosby joins a number of other NHL players to get the mumps, including members of the Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils.

"If someone on one team had it, I can understand it can spread pretty quickly. But to other teams — I didn't think that would really happen," said John Deitz, a 19-year-old hockey player in Winnipeg.

The mumps virus is spread through saliva or mucus, usually from coughing, sneezing or talking, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sharing drinks and utensils can also contribute to spreading the infection.

The most common symptoms of the mumps include fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue and swollen salivary glands, according to the CDC.

Some experts say the NHL is a perfect environment for the infection to spread because players often share equipment and are regularly in close contact.

Deitz said on all the hockey teams he has played on, sharing water bottles was second nature. Now, he said he will take extra precautions and not share his water bottle.

Some young players don't share their water bottles anyway, said John Peterson, a coach with the Corydon Comets.

"I think the kids, generally they stick to their own water bottles, and that's it," he said.

The first mumps vaccine was licensed in the United States in 1967, according to the CDC. The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine began to be administered in Canada in the early 1970s, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Originally, one dose of the MMR vaccine was administered to a child aged between 12 and 15 months. In 1989, several health agencies recommended the vaccine be increased to two doses, the second given between ages 4 and 6.

The CDC says two doses of the vaccine are 88 per cent effective at preventing mumps, while one dose is 78 per cent effective.