The outbreak of mumps that has sickened more than 20 National Hockey League players, including five from the Minnesota Wild, is a stark reminder that the pathogens causing serious childhood diseases didn't disappear with the advent of vaccines.

The bugs still exist. In the right circumstances, they still can make some of the strongest, healthiest people around — in this case, professional athletes — very ill.

That's why vigilance and vaccinations remain critical in the continuing battle against illnesses such as measles and whooping cough, which sickened thousands of children annually a few generations ago and put too many in tiny coffins. While most recover from the mumps, the disease can have rare but potentially serious complications such as meningitis, loss of hearing, sterility in males or encephalitis.

The high-profile NHL outbreak should prompt families to ensure that kids are up-to-date on routine immunizations, particularly if kids are on sports teams. The close contact of NHL locker rooms and games, along with shared equipment, is believed to have aided the disease's spread in the league. Mumps is transmitted by drops of saliva or mucus.

Unfortunately, the success of vaccines has prompted some parents to underestimate the still-present risk of these pathogens and forgo shots for their children.

The Minnesota Immunization Information Center (MIIC) tracks vaccine coverage statewide through a confidential immunization registry. In 2013, just 62.9 percent of Minnesota children ages 24 months to 36 months had the recommended series of vaccinations to guard against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, chickenpox, hepatitis B, and haemophilus influenza type B. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is also part of this series.

Some areas of the state do better than others, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Generally, outstate Minnesota has higher childhood vaccine rates than the metro area, with many counties in the southwestern and southeastern parts of the state at over 80 percent for the recommended childhood series.

Chisago County had the lowest reported rate for 2013, with about 32 percent of children between 24 months and 36 months receiving the recommended vaccine series. About half of the children in Wright, Ramsey and Pine counties were reported to have had the recommended series.

Mumps is a viral infection that can cause a fever, headache, fatigue, muscle aches and swollen salivary glands, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. There's no cure for it. The disease simply has to run its course over about two weeks.

So far, 19 confirmed cases of mumps have been reported this year in Minnesota. That's up from the annual average of about five cases since 2009, but far less than the 180 in 2006. Before the vaccine, about 150,000 cases a year were reported in the United States.

Two doses of the vaccine — which is combined with measles and rubella immunizations — are recommended. While some people who get vaccinated still will get sick, the mumps vaccine is about 88 percent effective. The NHL outbreak should prompt more Minnesotans to take advantage of this vital protection to avoid a faceoff with serious illness.