Compared to the considerably smaller number just a few months ago, now there are over 5,000 people quarantined in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to mumps or chicken pox exposure. This year alone, there have been over 1,000 reported mumps cases in the United States.

Quarantined In ICE

According to ICE, there are now 5,200 adult immigrants who have been placed under quarantine due to their exposure to chicken pox or mumps. Of them, 4,200 are quarantined due to exposure to mumps, 800 were exposed to chicken pox, while 100 were exposed to both.

These numbers reveal a dramatic increase from just a few months ago when there were fewer quarantined individuals. In fact, an ICE official tells CNN that the agency has so far received reports of mumps and chicken pox in 39 immigrant detention centers across the country.

To be clear, not all of the quarantined individuals have measles or chicken pox, but have at least been exposed to the contagious disease. What is concerning, however, is that while the agency has previously dealt with diseases such as measles and chicken pox, it was only last September that mumps was recorded.

The quarantined individuals will be in custody for 25 days from the last incubation period.

Mumps In The United States

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year alone, there have so far been 1,002 reported cases of mumps. It is a contagious disease that can be easily passed through saliva, mucus, coughing, sneezing, or talking. It can also be spread by sharing utensils with an infected individual, or even just by touching a surface that has previously been touched by the infected.

This past week, a mumps outbreak at Harris County Jail in Houston caused staff to isolate 14 people and quarantine hundreds of other inmates. Furthermore, just last March, thousands of students at Temple University signed a petition to have the school closed down due to a mumps outbreak in the campus.

So far, the best way to prevent measles is still the Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccine which is 88 percent effective for the prevention of mumps once two shots have already been given.