Officials have confirmed a case of mumps at a Florida junior high school.
The principal of Pioneer Middle School in Broward County sent a letter to parents Friday saying that students displaying symptoms would be excluded from school until a doctor determined they weren't contagious.
The letter didn't say whether the infected person was a student or staff member. The airborne virus is transmitted through the inhalation of infected salvia droplets released during coughing or sneezing or by direct contact with the saliva of an infected person.
Signs and symptoms of mumps include fever, headache, loss of appetite, weakness, earache and swelling in the neck or jaw. The incubation period is from two to three weeks.
