What You Need to Know About the NHL's Mumps Outbreak

Mumps, a disease thought to have gone by the wayside in North America along with typhoid fever, dysentery and anything else that might kill you while playing Oregon Trail, has been circulating throughout the NHL this season. With the news over the weekend that Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Derick Brassard of the New York Rangers have contracted the viral infection, we are now up to at least 14 players to experience mumps during the 2014-15 season.

It's not as though athletes contracting diseases is a new thing: The NFL had an MRSA scare last season, and there was all kinds of craziness during the SARS outbreak of a decade ago, as some countries put travel bans on athletes from countries dealing with SARS.

But mumps? Really?

Yes, really, and it's probably not going anywhere for a little while.

If you've got questions about mumps, we've got answers. At least, we hope we do.

What exactly are the mumps? And should I put "the" before mumps when talking about it?

To answer the second question, no. Mumps shouldn't be treated like Ohio State University during a Sunday Night Football player introduction. "Mumps" is fine.

For the medical definition of mumps, we turn to Mayo Clinic:

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Mumps is a viral infection that primarily affects the parotid glands — one of three pairs of saliva-producing (salivary) glands, situated below and in front of your ears. If you or your child contracts mumps, it can cause swelling in one or both parotid glands.

Mumps was common in the United States until mumps vaccination became routine. Since then, the number of cases has dropped dramatically, so your odds of getting mumps are low.

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Symptoms include "swollen, painful salivary glands on one or both sides of your face (parotitis), fever, headache, weakness and fatigue, loss of appetite and pain while chewing or swallowing."

Mumps is spread by "breathing in saliva droplets of an infected person who has just sneezed or coughed," or from "sharing utensils or cups with someone who has mumps." Symptoms can take up to three weeks to present themselves.

The mumps endgame can be particularly scary, as it can cause encephalitis and meningitis, while pregnant women may suffer miscarriages.

The most frightening nugget for me in that entire Mayo Clinic section on mumps reads, "There's no specific treatment for mumps."

Great.

So I can't do anything to prevent myself from acquiring mumps?

Deadspin posted a nice little briefing on the mumps situation the morning of Dec. 15 from Matt McCarthy, an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical Center. He's wearing one of those doctor hats with a light in his avatar, so you know he's legit.

McCarthy writes about how kids are vaccinated against mumps, in some cases twice, before they reach kindergarten. These two segments of the piece really stood out:

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There isn't a simple blood test to confirm with 100 percent certainty that a hockey player (or any person) is truly immune to mumps. That's because the optimal level of antibody to protect from the virus is unknown. NHL teams assumed players were immune when, in fact, they were not. ...

... So what do we do about the situation in the NHL? Many teams have offered a mumps booster to its players. (The Islanders and a few other clubs also offered it to staff.) But not everyone affiliated with the NHL has received the shot, and that is what's keeping this thing going. To contain this outbreak, every player and team staff member—even the guy on the Zamboni—should be offered the mumps booster vaccine in conjunction with a consultation by a physician. It should've happened weeks ago.

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The NHL falling behind on something? Hard to believe! If mumps are anything like analytics, this should be handled some time around 2021.

But since Crosby is involved, it's very likely the NHL will deliver a full-court press (or five-man forecheck) against mumps in the coming days.

Hockey players sweat and hit each other and spit all over the ice. They share water bottles on the bench. Maybe that doesn't make them more susceptible to mumps than other athletes, but it makes them more susceptible than everyone in your office.

Who are the 14 players to contract mumps?

Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

It has been reported that along with Brassard and Crosby, NHL players who have had or currently have mumps include Francois Beauchemin, Corey Perry, Clayton Stoner and Emerson Etem of the Anaheim Ducks; Ryan Suter, Keith Ballard, Marco Scandella, Jonas Brodin and Christian Folin of the Minnesota Wild; Travis Zajac and Adam Larsson of the New Jersey Devils; and Brassard's Rangers teammate Tanner Glass.

According to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Perry was the first player diagnosed with mumps, but it's unclear if the outbreak started in Anaheim. It's possible that members of the St. Louis Blues had it before anyone with the Ducks did, but mumps were never confirmed. Since the Penguins were unaware Crosby had mumps when the right side of his face was extremely swollen, consider me skeptical the Blues didn't mess this up.

If hockey players are so tough, why don't they play with it?

Because it's mumps, you idiot. A broken hand or pulled groin isn't contagious; mumps is. And if mumps isn't treated properly…tell them, Mayo Clinic:

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Most mumps complications involve inflammation and swelling in some part of the body, such as:

Testicles. This condition, known as orchitis, causes one or both testicles to swell in males who've reached puberty. Orchitis is painful, but it rarely leads to sterility — the inability to father a child.

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A player can live with pain in his hand, wrist, shoulder or knee when his career is over; they likely feel a bit more protective about their testicles.

Have you come into direct contact with anyone who has contracted mumps? Are you OK?

Len Redkoles/Getty Images

That's such a thoughtful question; thanks for caring. Yes, I spoke with Brassard at his locker at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 1 for about five minutes. Since the incubation period is two to three weeks, it's possible he had it when we talked.

So when can we expect this to end?

Best guess, this stops being a thing by the time the All-Star break (Jan. 24) begins. Some teams have already administered booster shots, and everyone else who hasn't should do so this week. Worst case, the most recently infected (Crosby/Brassard) infect a couple other people, then the disease runs its course, and that's it.

I am not a doctor or a professor of medicine, so that's just a guess based on all the mumps reading I've done over the past two months.

Did you see this news about Pittsburgh's Beau Bennett maybe having mumps, too?

In addition, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford said via Kevin Allen of USA Today, "We just don't know how far it could be spread."

OK, fine. Maybe this will be a thing for the rest of the season.

All statistics via NHL.com and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.