Mumps

Background of Illness

Mumps is a viral illness that starts by swelling of the parotid gland. Before the swelling there are several days of non specific temperature, headache, aches and pains and is especially common in children. It is spread by droplet, 50% of the cases may get meningitis like symptoms, headache, photophobia and neck stiffness and the complications include meningitis and encephalitis.

Vaccine Facts

Before the immunisation started it was the commonest cause of viral meningitis in hospital admissions, mumps vaccination was introduced in 1988 with MMR combined vaccine and in 1996 the two dose MMR vaccine was introduced i.e. booster before school as one dose of vaccine did not produce enough protection against mumps in the long run. Mumps vaccine is a live vaccine schedule of administration is first dose given at 13 months and the second dose given between 3-5 years of age before the child attends school.

Complications

Male sterility and in very rare cases female sterility as well. Contraindications to the vaccine are people who are immuno compromised, who have had anaphylactic reaction to previous dosage and pregnant women. People with egg allergy should have the mumps vaccine, most vaccine common reactions are aches, pains and temperature which occurs 2-3 days later, swelling of the parotid gland can occur in 1% of the children, rare, but most serious side effects like seizures can occur in 1-1,000 children vaccinated.

The suppliers of the vaccine are Sanofi Pasteur and Merck in America.