Mumps

What is Mumps?

Mumps is an acute viral illness disease caused by a virus that usually spreads through saliva and can infect many parts of the body, especially the parotid salivary glands. These glands, which produce saliva for the mouth, are found toward the back of each cheek, in the area between the ear and jaw. In cases of mumps, these glands typically swell and become painful.

Mumps was common until the mumps vaccine was licensed in 1967. Before the vaccine, up to 200,000 cases of mumps occurred each year in the United States. Since then, the number of cases has dropped dramatically.

Outbreaks of mumps still occur in the United States, and mumps is still common in many parts of the world, so getting a vaccination to prevent mumps is important.

What are the causes of Mumps?

Some causes of mumps are-

Mumps is typically caused by the RNA virus of paramyxovirus.

Other viruses implicated in recurrent parotitis are influenza, echo virus, para influenza (types 1 and 3), and coxsackievirus A. More rare causes of parotitis seen in persons with HIV infection are adenovirus or cytomegalovirus.

Bacterial (suppurative) parotitis is most commonly caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection.

The largest risk factor is lack of immunization or rarely in children who have only received the first vaccination at 15 months.

What are the symptoms of Mumps?

Some common symptoms of mumps are mentioned below-

Headache.
Muscle pain.
Slight fever, usually lasting about 2-3 days.
Fatigue .
Dry mouth.
Difficulty in swallowing.
Loss of appetite.
Earache.

There may be no symptoms, or only very minor ones. The immune system makes antibodies during the infection. These fight off the virus and then provide lifelong immunity. It is therefore very rare to have more than one episode of mumps.

What is the treatment done for Mumps?

Treatment includes analgesics for pain, antipyretics for fever, and adequate fluid intake to prevent dehydration from fever and anorexia. If the patient cannot swallow, I.V. fluid replacement may be used.

Besides this there is no specific treatment. Supportive care should be given as needed. If someone becomes very ill, they should seek medical attention. If someone seeks medical attention, they should call their doctor in advance so that they don't have to sit in the waiting room for a long time and possibly infect other patients.

Medications can be given (e.g., antiviral drugs, VZIG, aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).