Anaheim Ducks players Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin have been diagnosed with mumps.
National Hockey League winger Perry has been cleared of the disease and is set to resume workouts Thursday, while Beauchemin is still in the hospital receiving intravenous fluids. Though, Ducks medical director Craig Milhouse said that he is improving.
Mumps, or epidemic parotitis, is a viral illness with no known cure. Primary symptoms include painful swelling of the salivary glands and testicles, accompanied by a rash. Treatment includes pain management while the disease runs its course. Complications of mumps in men include infertility or subfertility, though these outcomes are rare.
Mumps is a contagious infection that is spread through contact with respiratory secretions, can be spread by sharing food and drinks and the virus can survive on surfaces.
Mumps is uncommon in the United States, due to a vaccine developed by microbiologist Maurice Hilleman. The MMRV vaccine, which is routinely administered to children at one or two years of age, protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. Booster shots are typically given three to five years later, to ensure lifelong immunity.
Perry, 29, and Beauchemin, 34, were both immunized early in life, though Milhouse commented that adults’ antibody levels decline over time. Milhouse added that it is unknown how the two contracted the disease, and the rest of the Ducks players have been vaccinated as a precautionary measure.
Hockey enthusiasts took to Twitter over the mumps news:
My mumps.
My mumps.
My Corey Perry mumps.
#LAKings
— The Mouth (@TheMouthLAKings) November 13, 2014
I feel for his suffering, I do, and so I truly wish "Corey Perry has the mumps" wasn't followed in my brain by automatic "doo-dah, doo-dah"
— katiebakes (@katiebakes) November 13, 2014
Spend your 2nd Intermission trying to avoid this live shot of Corey Perry: http://t.co/36Gy0uZZim pic.twitter.com/XhHOXmnufi
— The Royal Half (@theroyalhalf) November 13, 2014
Best wishes to Corey Perry for a speedy recovery from his debilitating case of syphillamydia.
— Hockey Brunch in CHI (@HockeyBrunch) November 13, 2014
Corey Perry: Hmm where did I get the mumps
*flashback sequence*
Corey Perry is drinking out of an airport toilet
— Torque Penderloin (@AndrewCieslak) November 13, 2014
Perry, who was the NHL leader with 11 goals in 13 games before falling ill, was out for his fourth straight game Wednesday night. Beauchemin has so far missed two games.