Mumps in young adults

Abstract

"To many people, mumps belongs to a bygone era of childhood diseases that are now prevented by immunization. But mumps is once more on the move, with recent outbreaks in many industrialized countries involving mainly older youth and young adults (aged 15–26 years), many of whom are students. In Canada, an outbreak began earlier this year in Nova Scotia (see page 137). More than 370 cases have been reported there, and the number is still rising. The outbreak has spread to other Atlantic provinces, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Outbreaks have also been reported in the United Kingdom (> 50 000 cases in 2004/05), the United States (> 2500 cases in 2006) and Spain (> 1300 in 2006/07), and previously in Alberta (> 180 cases in 2002) and Nova Scotia (> 30 cases in 2005/061 ). In most cases the patient had received at least 1 dose of measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccine as a child, and in the 2006 outbreak in the United States 46% had received 2 doses. The mumps paramyxovirus strains in the United States and Nova Scotia are similar to the G genotype from the United Kingdom, which spread widely."