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closeA mumps outbreak has infected 200 people in British Columbia's Fraser Valley but hasn't spread to Whatcom County.
"We haven't seen anything," said Beth Melius, the disease control and response manager for the Whatcom County Health Department. "It's definitely a possibility. Diseases cross the border all the time."
The outbreak began in Alberta and spread west through a Fraser Valley-based religious group that rejects immunization. The disease has been detected in people as far west as Burnaby, a Vancouver suburb, a Canadian health official told the Associated Press.
Melius said county health department staff are working with Canadian health authorities to gauge the likelihood of the outbreak spreading south to Whatcom County.
The disease spreads through saliva, and its symptoms are swollen glands under the jaw and chin. The vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella can prevent infection.
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