Mumps is a viral infection that inflames the salivary glands, most often the ones near the ears (the parotid glands). That causes the typical look of the illness: the cheek and the area under the ear swell and the face looks rounded. The virus spreads through the air in droplets when a person coughs, sneezes, or talks, and through shared dishes and objects that have saliva on them. It mostly affects children and teenagers, but an adult without immunity can get it too.
Mumps symptoms
Symptoms usually start 16 to 19 days after exposure, sometimes anywhere from 14 to 25 days. In the first days there may be a fever, headache, muscle pain, tiredness, and poor appetite. Then the main sign appears: a painful swelling in front of the ear and under the lower jaw, first on one side and, within a couple of days, often on the other. Chewing, swallowing, and opening the mouth hurt, and sour foods make the pain worse. According to ECDC, gland swelling develops in about 70% of people who are infected, and around 20% of infections cause no symptoms at all, so a person may not know they are contagious.
A person is considered contagious from the first days of illness, and isolation for at least five days from the start of the swelling is recommended. A child should stay out of daycare and school during that time.
Why mumps can be dangerous: complications
In children mumps usually passes without trouble, but the virus can affect more than the salivary glands.
- Orchitis, an inflammation of the testicle, occurs in 25 to 50% of teenage boys and men who get mumps. In about a third of cases both testicles are affected. The pain and swelling are severe, and in rare cases there can be fertility problems later.
- Meningitis. Mild (aseptic) meningitis develops in some patients (up to 15%) and usually ends in full recovery.
- Hearing loss. Permanent hearing loss in one ear is rare: ECDC estimates it at between 1 in 3,400 and 1 in 20,000 cases.
- Encephalitis is very rare, but it accounts for most deaths from mumps.
- Women can develop inflamed ovaries. Both men and women can develop inflammation of the pancreas, which shows up as abdominal pain.
How mumps is diagnosed and treated
A doctor usually makes the diagnosis by examination: swelling in the typical place plus a known contact. When there is doubt, a blood test for antibodies or a PCR test of saliva is used, because similar swelling can come from bacterial infections, salivary stones, and other conditions. There is no antiviral medicine for mumps. Treatment is aimed at comfort: rest, plenty of fluids, soft food that does not irritate, and medicine for fever and pain as your doctor advises. Antibiotics help only with bacterial complications. A doctor chooses the medicines and doses, especially for children.
Who to see: a pediatrician for a child, a general practitioner or an infectious disease specialist for an adult. If a man has a painful testicle, see a urologist.
Mumps vaccine in Georgia
The best protection is the vaccine. In Georgia, mumps is covered by the national immunization schedule through the combined MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella). The two-dose course is given at 12 months and at 5 years of age (Minister's Order No. 01-60/n, version of July 13, 2023). Unvaccinated children and teenagers get two doses at least four weeks apart.
Clinics in Georgia offer, among others, MMR (Serum Institute of India) and Priorix (GSK). For children under 18, calendar vaccines are free under the state program. Vaccine prices at clinics in Georgia are listed further down this page. Two doses of MMR protect in about 88% of cases and one dose in about 78%, and a vaccinated person who does get sick usually has a milder illness with fewer complications. The same shot also protects against measles and rubella.
MMR is a live vaccine, so it is not given during pregnancy or to people with severe immune deficiency, and a doctor decides in case of an allergy to a vaccine component. Adults who never had mumps and are not sure they were vaccinated should ask a doctor how many doses they need.
When to see a doctor urgently
- severe headache, vomiting, a stiff neck, drowsiness, or seizures;
- sudden pain or swelling in the scrotum, or a high fever in a man or teenage boy;
- severe abdominal pain with vomiting;
- new hearing loss or ringing in the ear;
- swelling that grows fast or makes it hard to breathe or swallow;
- a pregnant woman or a person with a weak immune system has been in contact with a sick person.
If the condition is severe, call an ambulance at 112.
