An outbreak of mumps that swept through Anchorage in late 2017 has so far not made its way down the Kenai Peninsula.

Alaska ended the year with 168 confirmed and probable cases of mumps, but there have been no laboratory confirmed cases of the virus on the peninsula since the outbreak began last summer, said Leslie Felts, nurse manager with the Kenai Sub-region of the Alaska Department of Health &Social Services Division of Public Health.

Mumps is a reportable illness, which means that health care providers are required to notify public health officials if they come across any cases.

The 2017 Anchorage outbreak greatly surpassed the number of mumps cases seen in recent years in the state.

In the last five years, Alaska has seen one or fewer cases of a mumps per year, according to data provided online by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

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