Mumps

Risks at a Glance:

• Deafness
• Meningitis – infection of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (in up to 15% of cases)
• Encephalitis (swelling of the brain) which can lead to convulsions, brain damage or death
• Oophoritis – (swollen ovaries) females who get mumps after puberty may experience swelling of the ovaries
• Orchitis – inflammation of one or both testicles which can cause infertility in males

About the disease:
Mumps is an infection caused by a virus that affects the salivary glands. The first symptoms that appear are usually vague like headache, feeling unwell, and fever. Within a day swelling of the salivary glands starts to show.

How it is spread:
Mumps is spread by direct contact or by airborne droplets from coughing and sneezing.

Treatment:
There is no cure for mumps but things like bed rest, over-the-counter painkillers, and applying a warm or cool compress to your swollen glands can help reduce pain. You will probably need to eat foods that don’t require a lot of chewing.

Impact of mumps:
Where there are mumps containing vaccinations in use, mumps is uncommon. There have been small outbreaks recently but no reported deaths.

Prevention:
One dose of the mumps vaccine is is around 78% effective at protecting against mumps. Two doses of the vaccine are around 88% effective.