By Lori EhdeSioux Valley Luverne Medical Center employees participated in a mumps vaccination drill Wednesday to test their preparedness in the event of any outbreak in Rock County.Kristin Peterson is the infection control and safety officer for Sioux Valley Luverne Hospital. She said there are 70 local medical employees who either know they need a shot or haven’t found documentation of their mumps immunization.Not all those employees were scheduled to work Wednesday morning, so all employees working that day were asked to participate, even if they didn’t actually get a shot."We wanted to see how many people we can get done in a certain amount of time and if our plan works," Peterson said. "We’re the only hospital in our area using this opportunity to test our planning."According to information from the National Center for Disease Control, anyone born after 1957 was likely immunized against mumps."Anyone born prior to 1957 who hasn’t had the mumps should consider getting a shot," Peterson said.People are encouraged to research their immunization history in case of a local mumps outbreak.There have been confirmed mumps cases in Iowa, but the closest cases to Rock County were suspected cases in Jackson and Sioux Falls.At this point, Peterson said health professionals are the first priority in terms of getting immunized."We need to make sure we’re not spreading it to those who aren’t immunized," Peterson said.Peterson is a member of the Southwest Minnesota Emergency Preparedness Committee, which is planning a community-wide immunization drill involving Rock and Nobles counties next month.About mumpsMumps is a viral infection spread by airborne droplets from the nose or throat.The symptoms of mumps include a low-grade fever and swelling or tenderness of one or more of the salivary glands in the cheeks and under the jaw. Symptoms usually appear between 12 and 25 days after a person has been exposed to the virus. However, about one-third of infected people do not have symptoms.Mumps usually begins with two days of discomfort and an increasing temperature. This is followed by an uncomfortable feeling in the jawbone and a swelling of the parotid glands. Often the swelling occurs unevenly, on one side of the face before the other. People with mumps often experience pain when opening their mouths. In mild cases the swelling may only last three to four days, but it can go on for a week or more.Although the swollen parotid glands and high temperature caused by mumps may be unpleasant, the most serious repercussions involve possible infection of other organs.