Mumps

Mumps classically causes swelling and inflammation of one or both of the parotid glands (parotitis).

More serious complications, such as meningitis, encephalitis, and orchitis, can occur in the absence of parotitis, potentially delaying accurate diagnosis.

Diagnosis can usually be made based on the characteristic clinical features of parotitis and prodrome. Laboratory diagnosis is based on serological or salivary confirmation, detection of viral nucleic acid, or isolation of the virus from body fluids.

Treatment is symptomatic, and the disease is largely preventable through routine vaccination.

The mumps vaccine, part of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, is widely used in developed countries. Despite this, sporadic outbreaks have occurred in highly vaccinated populations, leading to suggestions that the vaccine’s efficacy may not be as high as originally thought, and that vaccination policy should be reviewed to possibly include 3 doses.

Mumps is an acute systemic infectious disease caused by an RNA paramyxovirus.[1]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ​Clinical overview of mumps. Jan 2025 [internet publication]. https://www.cdc.gov/mumps/hcp/clinical-overview/index.html ​​​ It is spread via respiratory droplets and, prior to the mumps vaccine, commonly affected school-aged children.[2]Hviid A, Rubin S, Muhlemann K. Mumps. Lancet. 2008 Mar 15;371(9616):932-44. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18342688?tool=bestpractice.com The disease typically causes swelling of the parotid glands, with other salivary glands, meninges, gonads, and pancreas also commonly involved.​