The Mumps Outbreak

Childhood Infections

Mumps is a now uncommon, because of the MMR vaccine, childhood viral infection that is caused by the mumps virus. Recently however, a mumps outbreak has affected about 815 people in Iowa and has spread to eight neighboring states, including Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Altogether, about 1,100 cases of mumps have been reported, making this the largest outbreak in the United States in more than 20 years. Fortunately, most cases have been mild though.

Do you have to worry about your kids getting mumps?

Most of the people who have been infected with mumps during this outbreak have been older teens and young adults between the ages of 18 and 25. In fact, it is thought that the outbreak may have started on a college campus, perhaps from someone visiting from the United Kingdom, since the mumps strain is the same one that is causing much larger outbreaks there among unvaccinated young adults.

Since most younger school age children have received two doses of MMR, there should be less of a chance that the mumps outbreak spreads to younger children at this time.

Mumps Symptoms

Children with mumps develop fever, loss of appetite, muscle aches, tiredness, headache, and the classic swelling of the parotid salivary glands within their cheeks along their jaw line.

Treatments for Mumps

There is no treatment for mumps.

Although rare, complications of a mumps infection can be severe, and can include:

• encephalitis (inflammation of the brain)
• meningitis (inflammation of the tissue covering the brain)
• orchitis (inflammation of the testicles)
• oophoritis (inflammation of the ovaries)
• mastitis (inflammation of the breasts)
• pancreatitis
• deafness, which can be permanent
• spontaneous abortion

What You Need To Know

• People with mumps are contagious from 3 days before they have symptoms to about 9 days after the symptoms begin.
  
  
• After being exposed to someone with mumps, it can take 12-25 days until the symptoms appear (the incubation period).
  
  
• The mumps vaccine, which is a part of the MMR vaccine, can prevent mumps in most cases. It is not 100% effective though, which may explain the current outbreak. One dose of vaccine is about 80% effective, while a second dose is thought to increase the effectiveness to 90%.
  
  
• There are other causes of parotitis, or swelling of the salivary glands, including other viruses and non-infectious causes.
  
  
• Although children don't get their second MMR vaccine until they are 4-6 years old, since they don't seem to be at risk during this outbreak, recommendations have not changed to give the second dose any earlier. That could possibly change if younger children began to get infected, as you can get the second MMR as early as 28 days after the dose, which they typically get when they are 12 months old.
  
  

References

¹Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Key Facts About Mumps
²CDC Health Advisory Multi-state Mumps Outbreak April 14, 2006.
³American Academy of Pediatrics Midwest Mumps Outbreak Fact Sheet April 20, 2006.