Mumps: Causes, Symptoms, Complication and Prevention

An acute infectious disease caused by a specific virus which has a predilection for glandular and nervous tissues. Clinically, the disease is recognized by non-suppurative enlargement and tenderness of one or both the parotid glands. Other organs may also be involved. Constitutional symptoms vary, or may be in apparent. The diseases occurs throughout the world. Although morbidity rate tends to be high, mortality rate negligible.

Causative agent: The causative agent, Myxovirus parotiditis is RNA virus of the myxovirus family. The virus can be grown readily in chick embryo ot tissue culture. There is only one serotype

Host of causative agent: Mumps is the most frequent cause of parotitis in children in the age groups 5-15 years. The average age of incidence of mumps in higher than with measles, chickenpox or whooping cough. However, no age is exempt if there is no previous immunity. The disease tends to be more severe in adults than in children. Mumps is largely an endemic disease. Cases occur throughout the year, but the peak incidence is in winter and spring. Epidemics are often associated with overcrowding.

Mode of transmission. The disease is spread mainly by droplet infection and after direct contact with an infected person.

Incubation period: It is varied from 2-3 weeks, usually 18 days.

Sign and Symptoms

Mumps is generalized viral infection. In 30-40 percent of cases mumps infection is clinically non apparent. In clinically apparent cases, it is characterized by pain and swelling in either one or both the parotid glands but may also involve the sublingual and submandibular glands. Often the child complains of “ear ache” on the affected side prior to the onset of swelling of the glands is evident. Mumps may also affect the testes, pancreas , CNS, ovaries , prostate etc. In severe cases, there may be fever, headache and other constitutional symptoms which may last from 3-5 days. The swelling subsides slowly over 1-2 weeks.

Complication: Though frequent are not serious. These include orchitis, ovaritis, pancreatitis, meningo-encephalitis and mycarditis. Bilateral orchitis is rare and assumption that mumps orchitis may lead to sterility is ill founded. While some instances of diabetes have occurred in children following mumps infection, a causal relationship has yet to be demonstrated . Rarer complications include nerve deafness, polyarthritis and hydrocephalus.

Prevention and Control

1- Vaccination : A highly effective live attenuated vaccine is now available for the prevention of mumps . A single dose (0.5ml) intramuscularly produces detectable antibodies in 95 percent of vaccine is also available as combined vaccine, viz. combined measles-mumps- rubella vaccine/rubella-mumps vaccine. The use of mumps vaccine is an unsettled question although it has been recommended for children over one year of age. Some argue that there is no good reason for trying to interfere natural exposure during childhood. Its use may be considered primarily in susceptible adults , especially males who had not had mumps, inasmuch as the disease tends to be severe should it occur in adult. As with most other live vaccines, mumps, vaccines should not be administered to pregnant women, patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy or those who have severely ill.

2- Immunoglobulin : A specific immunoglobulin is available, but its protective effect has not been established, as antibody studies have not been carried out on receipients.

3- To control of mumps is difficult because the diseases is infectious before a diagnosis can be made. The long and variable incubation period and the occurrence of subclinical cases make the control of spread difficult. However, cases should be taken to disinfect the articles used by the patient. Contacts should be kept under surveillance.


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