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By: Ikedi Ani-okoye.

Mumps Defined

Mumps is an acute, contagious, viral illness characterized by painful enlargement of the parotid glands, just below and in front of the ear, and at times, the salivary glands under the jaw and sometimes of the pancreas, ovaries, or testes.

Together with the likes of measles and chickenpox , mumps was once considered one of the inevitable infectious diseases of childhood. This disease, mainly affecting children, can be prevented by vaccination.

Some causes of mumps

Mumps is caused by a mumps virus, an RNA virus of the paramyxovirus family of viruses. It spreads from person to person as well as through contact with contaminated items and surfaces. Once the mumps virus enters the body, it passes into the bloodstream and can spread to many different glands and to the brain. Mumps occurs most often in children ages two through twelve, although unvaccinated adults are also susceptible.

Mumps air bourne

MMR- Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) are viruses that are spread in the air. All three of the diseases are protected against with the MMR vaccine. Measles can cause coughing, runny nose, rashes, fever, and irritation in the eye. This disease may cause pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death. Mumps causes painful swelling in the salivary glands, fever and headache. Mumps can also cause meningitis, deafness, painful swelling of the testicles or ovaries sometimes resulting in infertility, and death.

Who can get Mumps and treatment

Persons who have not been immunized against mumps are the main risk group. Unvaccinated school-aged children are most at risk. There is no specific treatment for mumps. Persons with mumps should drink plenty of fluids, get bed rest, and take medicine to control fever. Warm moist towels can help relieve the discomfort of the swelling. Children with mumps should be kept home from school or day care until 9 days after the swelling begins, or until the swelling goes away.

CONCLUSION

Mumps is an infectious disease caused by the mumps virus.  It is a mild disease in most people causing very little upset and may even go completely unnoticed.  In others, however, it can have some quite severe complications.  These include swelling of the testes (orchitis), swelling of the ovaries (oophoritis), meningitis, encephalitis and deafness. Sterility seldom occurs.