The effect of a school entry law on mumps activity in a school district
B. P. Chaiken, N. M. Williams, S. R. Preblud, W. Parkin and R. Altman
Sixty-three cases of clinical mumps occurring in a New Jersey school
district presented an opportunity to determine compliance with the state's
1978 mumps "new entrants" school immunization law, investigate the effect
of the law on the pattern of the outbreak, estimate the efficacy of mumps
vaccine, and quantitate the economic impact of the outbreak. Only students
in kindergarten (K) through grade 5 would have been affected by the
immunization law. Students in the sixth grade were nearly seven times more
likely to develop mumps than students in grades K through 5. The observed
differences between the sixth graders and those in grades K through 5 most
likely reflect the fact that sixth graders were not covered by the school
law. Vaccine efficacy was estimated to be 91% (95% confidence interval =
77% to 93%). The total direct cost of the outbreak was $10,937 (clinic
costs plus total cost to households). This outbreak demonstrates the
significant impact of appropriate school vaccination laws on limiting the
morbidity and economic and social costs of mumps.
