Â鶹ÒùÔº, faculty and staff at the University of Colorado at Boulder need to be aware of the growing threat of mumps infection that has spread rapidly in some Midwestern states, including Iowa where state health officials have declared an epidemic. Iowa has had 975 cases of mumps since the end of January 2006, compared to five cases annually in recent years, the biggest outbreak of mumps in the past 17 years. People in the 18- to 25-year age group have been particularly hard hit, causing concern on college campuses.