Mumps Infection

Mumps is a viral infection that is spread by droplets of saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose, or throat of an infected person and can spread easily in settings where people have close contact with each other, such as college dormitories. Symptoms typically develop 2-3 weeks after exposure to the virus. See the CDC website for more information.  

The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and swollen or tender salivary glands under the ears, jaw, or tongue.  In males, the disease can also cause painful, swollen testicles. The disease can also lead to hearing loss, and aseptic meningitis (infection of the covering of the brain and spinal cord). 

Most people born before 1957 have had mumps disease and are immune to mumps and most people who have had two doses of MMR vaccine will also be protected against mumps.  However, 5-10% may still be susceptible to mumps after receiving the two recommended doses. There is evidence that in outbreak settings an additional dose of MMR may decrease transmission of mumps.  

MMR vaccine is not appropriate for pregnant women or individuals with weakened immune systems.  

• Stay home, do not attend classes or work, and limit your contact with others as much as you can for 5 days after the onset of symptoms to help prevent the spread of the disease.
• Contact the UHS Advice Nurse at (510) 643-7197 to determine if testing is indicated. 
• Cover your mouth and nose when you cough and clean your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. 

(CDC) Most people with mumps fully recover after a few weeks. While infected with mumps, many people feel tired and achy, have a fever, and may have swelling of the salivary glands on the side of the face. Others may feel extremely ill and be unable to eat because of pain around the jaw, and a few will develop serious complications. Men and adolescent boys can develop pain or swelling in their testicles, and in some cases, this can result in impaired fertility. In very rare cases, sterility can result.  Another rare complication involves inflammation of the protective membranes (meninges) covering the brain and spinal cord.  This can cause severe headaches, meningitis, and in some cases partial or temporary loss of hearing.  In rare cases, this hearing loss can be permanent. One of the more serious but rare complications of mumps is inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), which can lead to death or permanent disability. Other organ systems can also be affected.

Most people born before 1957 have had mumps disease and are immune to mumps and most people who have had two doses of MMR vaccine will also be protected against mumps. However, 5-10% may still be susceptible to mumps after receiving the two recommended doses.

(CDC) When you have mumps, you should avoid close and prolonged contact with other people until at least 5 days after your glands begin to swell, because you are most contagious to others during this time. This means you should stay home when you are sick with mumps. You should not go to work or school. Even at home, you should limit contact with the people you live with.  For example, sleep in a separate room by yourself if you can. Wear a mask when others are in your vicinity.  Staying home while sick with mumps is an important way to avoid spreading the virus to other people. 

(CDC) Although the vaccine against mumps is very effective, it is not perfect. When the mumps virus is introduced into settings where close contact between people makes it easy for the virus to spread (such as schools and colleges) outbreaks sometimes occur. People who are not vaccinated against mumps have a higher chance of getting the disease and spreading the virus to others. 

(CDC) The MMR vaccine is very effective against measles, mumps, and rubella, but it is not perfect. MMR vaccine reduces the risk of getting mumps, especially if you get two doses. People who have received two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 9 times less likely to get mumps than unvaccinated people who have the same exposure to the mumps virus. However, some people who received two doses of MMR can still get mumps, especially if they have an intense exposure to the mumps virus. If they do get mumps, people who have been vaccinated are likely to have less severe illness. 

Before there was a vaccine against mumps, mumps was a common childhood disease in the United States, and in some cases, the disease caused complications, such as permanent deafness in children and, occasionally, swelling of the brain (encephalitis), which can result in death, although very rarely. Now, there are normally only a few hundred cases of mumps every year. However, outbreaks occur sometimes and involve a higher number of cases. In 2006, there was an outbreak affecting more than 6,000 people in the United States, with many cases occurring on college campuses. In 2009, an outbreak started in close-knit religious communities and schools in the Northeast, resulting in more than 2,500 cases. These outbreaks have shown that when people who are sick with mumps have close contact with a lot of other people (such as among students living in dormitories and students and families in close-knit communities) mumps can spread even among vaccinated people.