Cases of mumps hit five-year high

NHS experts issue warning in bid to curb spread

THE number of cases of mumps has doubled in a year and continues to climb, health chiefs have warned.

There were 534 confirmed cases of the disease last year, up from 281 the year before, making it the highest level since 2015.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has issued fresh advice to health boards and schools in an attempt to halt the spread.

The figure has hit a five-year high despite a 97 per cent up-take in children receiving the first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine by the age of five.

However, even people vaccinated against the disease have been diagnosed with mumps, amid warnings the injection most Scots received as children is ‘waning’ and becoming less effective over time. Medical experts say the increase in mumps cases is likely to be explained by the effectiveness of the mumps component of the MMR vaccine.

While effective at protecting children, it is poorer than that for measles or rubella, and immunity declines with age.

NHS Lothian has warned parents of children at schools and nurseries: ‘Mumps is circulating in the community at a higher than usual level in Lothian.

‘Most cases are young adults, older than school age, but we are starting to see cases in schoolchildren.’

The board’s email continues: ‘The infection can be easily spread from person to person by direct contact with saliva or droplets of saliva (eg via coughs and sneezes) from an infected individual. Occasionally mumps can cause more serious complications. Pupils with symptoms of mumps should not attend school until they are recovered and at least five days after the parotid (facial) swelling began.’

For most people, mumps is a relatively mild viral infection which causes painful swellings at the side of the face under the ears – the parotid glands. Other symptoms include headaches, joint pain and a high temperature, which may develop a few days before the swelling.

But the infection can lead to viral meningitis if it moves into the outer layer of the brain – and people with the symptoms are advised to consult a doctor.

People who have been vaccinated see their immunity wane because some mumps strains are becoming rarer and the public are not exposed to them.

Every time a person is exposed to the virus it provides a boost to the immune system, helping it to ‘remember’ the bug next time it encounters it.

Professor Alison McCallum, director of public health and health policy at NHS Lothian, said: ‘The most effective strategy for preventing the transmission of mumps is vaccination with the MMR vaccine, with two doses required.

‘We would encourage young people who have not received two doses of MMR to contact their GP practice.’

HPS said the majority of mumps cases in recent years have been in those aged between 17 to 34 years, consistent with the age groups which are likely to be under-immunised with a vaccine that contains a mumps component.

‘More serious complications’