The third case of mumps — the second in just two days — hit the University of Wisconsin Monday.

A day after the university learned a Witte Hall resident tested positive for mumps, University Health Services epidemiologist Craig Roberts confirmed yesterday that a male UW student living off-campus also contracted the highly contagious virus.

Roberts said the student has been isolated and will remain so for nine days, following standard procedure to prevent the virus from spreading further.

"For people who are diagnosed with mumps or with a possible case of mumps, there's nothing you can really do — no treatment," Roberts said. "All we can do is limit the spread."

Adding to the concern, Roberts said, is that all three UW students had their Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccination shots, which UHS officials are asking all students to make sure they have received as a precaution against contracting mumps.

According to Roberts, the vaccine usually prevents 90-to-95 percent of people from ever coming down with the virus.

"[The three UW students] are people whose vaccination failed to work or whose immunity was lost over time," Roberts said. "We're trying to figure out which 5-10 percent of the population they are."

Since Wisconsin's first case of mumps was confirmed March 20, Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services spokesperson Stephanie Marquis said a total of 62 cases have been confirmed throughout the state. However, Marquis added that the number might be higher, since it might not include the recent UW cases.

The first case of mumps hit UW April 25, a 20-year-old female undergraduate student, and since then, Roberts said on "any given day" three to four UW students contact UHS suspecting they might have the virus.

"More cases are being reported every day," Roberts said. "We definitely expect to see more cases on campus."

Another major concern, Roberts added, is that because symptoms of mumps can go unnoticed for as long as a week, someone who has the virus can infect any number of people in that time unknowingly.

"The infection period is 14 days and typically, in the first 5 days, a person shows no symptoms or only mild symptoms," Roberts said. "By the time they have been seen, they are halfway through that period and could've infected somebody else without knowing."

To help control the spread of the virus, UHS officials are asking each student to check their immunization records to make sure they have received both the initial MMR vaccination shot and a booster shot, and practice simple good hygiene.

Students with confirmed cases of mumps will continue to be isolated — not permitted to attend classes, labs or work — until no longer contagious, officials added, and people who were in "close contact" with them will be checked for the virus.

"It's about the only thing you can do is isolate people who are ill and educate everyone else," UHS Executive Director Kathleen Poi said.

Infected students not able to attend classes or finals because of required isolation will be able to make up their work, UW assistant dean of students Ervin Cox said in a previous interview.

"Faculty are usually pretty good about working with things like this," he said, adding health problems are not put on hold during finals week, and the university is prepared to accommodate for resulting problems.

When the case of mumps was confirmed in Witte Hall, University Housing sent an email to all residents notifying them of the situation, with information on mumps and its symptoms.

Poi added students should be aware of situations in which mumps might be spread.

"If I were a student, I wouldn't want to be sharing a cup with anybody," Poi said.