( CNN ) -- Health authorities indicated Friday there have been 361 cases of mumps in central Ohio , a significantly higher number than was reported just a few weeks ago . Most of these cases -- 208 , to be specific -- have been linked to Ohio State University in Columbus , the city 's health department said . The 361 total includes cases from Franklin , Delaware and Madison counties and was current as of 2:30 p.m. Friday . Some 139 of those diagnosed were students at Ohio State , while a number of others worked at or otherwise had a connection to the university . As recently as March 21 , the same agency was reporting 63 mumps cases , of which 45 were tied to the university . The outbreak originated in February with a cluster of cases at Ohio State . Mumps outbreak spread beyond Ohio State campus . Melanie Amato , an Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman , attributes the spike to many students heading home , where they could end up spreading mumps or at least be seen and diagnosed by doctors . `` We do n't expect the numbers to go down soon , '' Amato said . Eleven people have been treated at area hospitals for mumps , according to Columbus Public Health . But none were still in hospitals as of Friday , and no deaths have been linked to the disease , Amato said . Those affected range in age between 4 months and 80 years old , with about 60 % being female . The Ohio Department of Health reports the first symptoms tied to this outbreak arose on January 7 . Jose Rodriguez , a Columbus health department spokesman , has said that the earliest OSU case was on February 11 . CNN Health Library : Learn more about mumps . There is a vaccine available for mumps , but it 's only 88 % effective , Amato points out . She explains : `` A lot of these people who got mumps were vaccinated . '' Mumps typically begins with a fever , headache , muscle aches , fatigue and loss of appetite , which is followed by the swelling of salivary glands , according to the CDC . It is `` a highly infectious disease '' that spreads the same way as a cold or flu does -- through respiratory droplets when someone coughs or sneezes . There is no specific treatment for mumps , and patients usually recover after a week or two , but occasionally the disease can cause serious complications such as encephalitis , meningitis , deafness or inflammation of the breasts or ovaries in girls who have reached puberty , the CDC said . Five days of isolation is required , `` and that can be complicated in a university setting , '' according to Rodriguez . Even more frightening -- one-third of cases have no symptoms , he said . Mumps is n't the only infectious disease outbreak that Ohio is dealing with . Earlier this week , authorities reported 68 people had come down with measles in the state , part of what is already an 18-year high of measles cases in the United States . 2013 : East Coast mumps outbreak linked to nightclub .
Columbus health department : 11 cases of mumps in central muscle aches . Agency reported 63 mumps cases February 11 . `` A lot of these people who got mumps were vaccinated , '' state official says . 361 of those infected were treated in hospitals , but none are there now .