Mumps Virus - Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

About Mumps

Mumps, also known as epidemic parotitis, is a viral disease caused by the mumps virus. Initial signs and symptoms often include fever, muscle pain, headache, and feeling tired. This is then usually followed by painful swelling of one or both parotid glands.

Transmission of Mumps

Mumps spreads through saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose, or throat. The virus can be spread by:

Coughing, sneezing, or talking
Sharing items, such as cups or eating utensils, with others
Touching objects or surfaces with unwashed hands that are then touched by others

Mumps likely spreads before the salivary glands begin to swell and up to five days after the swelling begins.

Symptoms of Mumps

Mumps is best known for the puffy cheeks and swollen jaw that it causes. This is a result of swollen salivary glands. The most common symptoms include:

Fever
Headache
Muscle aches
Tiredness
Loss of appetite
Swollen and tender salivary glands under the ears on one or both sides (parotitis)

Symptoms typically appear 16-18 days after infection, but this period can range from 12-25 days after infection. Some people who get mumps have very mild or no symptoms, and often they do not know they have the disease. Most people with mumps recover completely in a few weeks.

Mumps can occasionally cause complications, especially in adults. These may include:

Inflammation of the testicles (orchitis) in males who have reached puberty; rarely leading to fertility problems
Inflammation of the brain (encephalitis)
Inflammation of the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord (meningitis)
Inflammation of the ovaries (oophoritis) and/or breasts (mastitis) in females who have reached puberty
Deafness

Prevention of Mumps Transmission

You have the power to protect your child and others against mumps with a safe and effective vaccine. The best protection against mumps is measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.

For those already affected by mumps, isolation is recommended in the first five days following the onset of symptoms. Healthcare providers should follow standard and droplet precautions.

Treatment

Symptoms may be relieved by the application of intermittent ice or heat to the affected area and by acetaminophen for pain relief. Warm saltwater gargles, soft foods, and extra fluids may also help relieve symptoms. Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) is not used to treat children due to the risk of Reye's syndrome.

Travel

There are currently no travel recommendations related to mumps, but because it is a common disease in many parts of the world, travelers should protect themselves against it by ensuring they are properly vaccinated.

Vaxxers by Sarah Gilbert and Catherine Green; Until Proven Safe by Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley – reviews

July 11, 2021

The story of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is part manifesto for good science communications, part biomedical thriller, while a smart history of quarantines makes their utility resoundingly clearOn the first day of Wimbledon, Dame Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at Oxford ’s Jenner Institute, wastreated to a standing ovation from grateful spectators on a packed Centre Court. Together with her Oxford colleague Catherine Green, Gilbert had delivered the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19in record time, and tennis fans, enjoying a rare maskless day out in SW19, were keen to show their appreciation. But as Gilbert and Green point out in their new book,Vaxxers, not everyone shares the Centre Court crowd ’s enthusiasm for vaccines, and as long as the coronavirus continues to mutat...MedWorm Message: Have you tried our new medical search engine? More powerful than before. Log on with your social media account. 100% free.

Progress Toward Rubella Elimination - World Health Organization European Region, 2005-2019

June 10, 2021

This report describes rubella incidence in European regions for the years 2005 to 2019. (Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)

These Moms Work as Doctors and Scientists. But They ’ve Also Taken On Another Job: Fighting COVID-19 Misinformation Online

March 24, 2021

Last March, friends and neighbors began stopping Emily Smith in her town outside of Waco, Texas, with questions about the coronavirus. An epidemiologist at Baylor University, Smith knows all too well how viruses are transmitted. But as the wife of a pastor and as a woman of faith, she also holds a trusted position in her community, and she would speak to those who asked about why she personally thought social distancing was a moral choice. As the weeks wore on, the questions kept coming: “What does flatten the curve mean?” “Is it safe for my child to kick a soccer ball outside with a friend?” So she started a Facebook page and called herself the Friendly Neighbor Epidemiologist. She adopted “Love thy neighbor” as the page’s credo. Smith wrote from...

Articles