San Diego County Public Health Services confirmed 14 confirmed cases and one probable case of mumps among San Diego State University students as of Wednesday. The mumps outbreak is contained within the San Diego State football team, with only one linked case originating from outside the team.

The university first confirmed three cases and two probable cases of mumps on Sept. 18. In response to the growing number of infections, San Diego State University is conducting daily screenings, testing, and contact tracing with San Diego County Public Health Services. Medical Director of San Diego State Student Health Services T. Ghosh explained the timeline of transmission in an email to students. "Because mumps symptoms can develop 12 to 25 days after exposure, these new cases reflect spread within the team and potential exposure to additional close contacts."

To mitigate further spread, San Diego State University is offering extra measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine boosters to close contacts. The university is also hosting a free booster clinic for students on Thursday. The free MMR booster clinic at San Diego State University is scheduled for Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Calpulli Center.

Mumps symptoms typically include swelling of the salivary glands, fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, and loss of appetite. Rare complications of mumps can include inflammation of reproductive organs, brain swelling, hearing loss, and pancreatitis. Treatment for mumps primarily involves supportive care while the virus runs its course, which typically takes one to 10 days.

San Diego State head coach Sean Lewis addressed the situation during a press conference, citing legal constraints on disclosing specific health information. Lewis cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as reasons for not identifying players who tested positive for mumps. "There are a lot of different things that are going on, both football related and non-football related. Due to FERPA and HIPAA, I'm not going to comment any further on that," he said.

The health issues coincide with roster changes listed on the team's availability report. San Diego State listed nearly three dozen players on its availability report Wednesday, with 17 listed as doubtful or out. San Diego State running back Lucky Sutton is listed as out with a high ankle sprain.

San Diego State running back Javion Kinnard is listed as doubtful with a knee injury sustained during the loss to Toledo. San Diego State guard Michael Leville Watkins is listed as doubtful or out on the availability report. San Diego State backup quarterback Stone Saunders, tight ends Jackson Ford and Ryan Wolfer, and wide receivers Jacob Bostick, Donovan Brown, Bert Emanuel Jr. and Justius Lowe are listed on the availability report. Additionally, San Diego State senior running back Christian Washington left the team last week.

Lewis said in a podcast interview, "The football gods have not really favored us with the injury luck. Guys have got to be ready to step into the light when the time comes. We've been given a nice storm here. But this too shall pass, and we've got to be able to see our way through it. He also emphasized the need to focus on the remaining schedule."

We had a good conversation this morning about how we have eight weeks left in the regular season. We knew going into it that we were only guaranteed 12. You want to maximize opportunity with the time that you do have to create more opportunity and more time as you move forward.""

San Diego State is scheduled to play Texas State on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET at Snapdragon Stadium. The game between San Diego State and Texas State will be broadcast on The CW. The matchup against Texas State is San Diego State's first game as a member of the Pac-12 conference.

San Diego State holds a 1-3 record entering the game against Texas State. The Aztecs lost their previous game 41-16 to Toledo.

Why It Matters

San Diego County Public Health Services has a dedicated mumps response team that includes epidemiologists, public health nurses, and community outreach coordinators, all of whom are involved in tracking and containing mumps outbreaks on local campuses. San Diego County Public Health Services has a documented history of managing mumps outbreaks on university campuses, including coordinating with SDSU during the 2020 incident and now overseeing the 2026 outbreak response. Historical data indicates that such incidents can persist; San Diego County Public Health Services has documented that mumps outbreaks on university campuses often last between 8 to 12 weeks, with the 2017 SDSU outbreak lasting 10 weeks before being contained.