Mumps

Description

Mumps is an acute viral disease characterized by fever, swelling, and tenderness of one or more salivary glands, usually the parotid and sometimes the sublingual or submaxillary glands.

Occurrence

Prior to vaccine licensure in 1967, 100,000 to 200,000 mumps cases are estimated to have occurred in the United States each year. Incidence declined to approximately 5,000 cases per year during the period from 1980 to 1990. Since 1995, fewer than 1,000 cases have been reported annually. The decline since 1995 is believed to be a result of the widespread use of a second dose of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Mumps primarily affects school-aged children. Since 1982, 50% to 80% of reported cases have occurred among those 5 through 19 years of age.

Risk for Travelers

The risk for exposure to mumps outside the United States can be high. Few countries use mumps vaccine, so mumps remains a common disease in many countries of the world.

Preventive Measures

Vaccine

Mumps vaccine contains live, attenuated mumps virus. It is available as a single antigen preparation, or combined with live, attenuated measles or rubella vaccines, or both. Combined MMR is recommended whenever one or more of the individual components are indicated.

Although vaccination against measles, mumps, and rubella is not a requirement for entry into any country (including the United States), people traveling or living abroad should be advised to ensure that they are immune to all three diseases. Immunity to mumps is of particular importance for children approaching puberty, and for adolescents and adults, particularly males, who have not had mumps. People can be considered immune to mumps if they have documentation of receipt of one or more doses of a mumps-containing vaccine on or after their first birthday or physician-diagnosed mumps, or laboratory evidence of mumps immunity. Most adults born before 1957 are likely to have been infected naturally and generally can be considered immune, even if they did not have clinically recognizable disease. However, mumps or MMR vaccine may be given to older people if there is reason to believe they might be susceptible.

The first dose of MMR should be routinely administered when an infant is 12 to 15 months of age. A single dose of MMR vaccine induces antibody formation to all three viruses in at least 95% of susceptibles vaccinated at 12 months of age or older. A second dose is expected to induce immunity in most vaccinees who do not respond to the first dose. The second dose should be separated from the first dose by a minimum of 28 days.

This page last reviewed February 25, 2002 Division of Global Migration and Quarantine.
National Center for Infectious Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention