Mumps
Introduction
Mumps is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects the parotid glands, one of three pairs of salivary glands. It is most commonly recognized by the painful swellings at the side of the face under the ears (the parotid glands), giving a person with mumps a distinctive "hamster face" appearance.
Etiology
Mumps is caused by the mumps virus, an enveloped, non-segmented, negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus of the Paramyxoviridae family. The virus is spread from person to person through contact with respiratory secretions, such as saliva from an infected person.
Clinical Features
The incubation period for mumps is typically 16–18 days, but can range from 12–25 days. Initial symptoms are non-specific and include fever, malaise, headache, myalgias, and anorexia. This is followed by development of parotitis, which is the hallmark feature of mumps. Parotitis presents as swelling and tenderness of one or both parotid glands. The swelling can last up to 10 days.
Complications
While mumps is a mild disease in most people, complications can occur and are more common among adults than children. Complications of mumps can include meningitis, orchitis (inflammation of the testicles), oophoritis (inflammation of the ovaries), deafness, and pancreatitis. Rarely, mumps can cause more serious complications such as encephalitis and miscarriage.
Diagnosis
Mumps is typically diagnosed based on clinical presentation. Laboratory confirmation of mumps can be performed through detection of mumps virus RNA in a patient’s saliva, urine, or cerebrospinal fluid by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Treatment
There is no specific treatment for mumps. Management of mumps involves relieving symptoms with analgesics and antipyretics. Patients are advised to stay hydrated and to avoid foods that require heavy chewing.
Prevention
Mumps can be prevented through vaccination with the mumps vaccine. The mumps vaccine is usually given as part of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends two doses of the vaccine, the first at 12 to 15 months of age and the second at 4 to 6 years of age.
Epidemiology
Mumps is a worldwide disease, although infection rates and epidemic patterns vary greatly among different regions and populations. Before the introduction of the mumps vaccine, mumps was a common childhood disease in many countries.