Vaccine Information Archive  

Mumps

Articles & Further Information  

Disease Definition

Caused by a virus, mumps is a salivary gland infection. It takes between 12 and 25 days for symptoms of this disease to show after infection. People may be infectious 6 days before symptoms develop and up to 9 days after they go away.

The mumps virus is passed through air droplets and contact with the saliva of an infected person.

Symptoms include: swelling under the jaw area; fever; headache; and aching muscles.

Complications of the disease include serious infection of other glands and body parts, such as testicles, ovaries, pancreas, liver, brain and heart. Hearing loss can occur due to nerve damage and mumps can cause sterility in some men.

Source: www.immunise.health.gov.au

Mumps was a common and typically very mild childhood disease prior to widespread vaccine use. Permanent long-term complications are rare and about 35% of infections are actually asymptomatic and go virtually unnoticed. It becomes more potentially serious in adolescence and adulthood (although the greatest advertised fear, that of sterility in adult males, is relatively rare). 

The peak age group for infection is usually between 5 and 9 years, however in communities with widespread vaccination the disease is shifing to older age groups (where it typically does more harm).

"A strong case can be made for allowing healthy young children to acquire the disease, as this will provide the longest lasting immunity" - Dr. Isaac Golden.

About the Vaccine 

The efficacy and safety of the mumps vaccination is questionable and certainly DOES NOT guarantee immunity in later years. 

There has been considerable concern over the years that the mumps vaccine may actually cause meningitis, with studies showing increased incidents of meningitis following vaccination. Mumps vaccination has also been linked to diabetes.

The mumps vaccine does not come as a single vaccine, but is given in combination with measles and rubella in the MMR vaccine making it difficult to attribute adverse reactions to a specific vaccine.

Vaccines used in Australia:

(see MMR page for combination Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccines)