A MUMPS epidemic is expected to hit Britain soon, experts have warned — with teenagers and young adults most at risk.
The disease, which can leave patients infertile and even be fatal, is prevented by the MMR vaccine but uptake is at a 15-year-low.
It has led to a surge in measles cases this year.
There were just 36 reports of mumps last year compared to 3,700 in 2020, so medics say a boom could be recorded this winter.
Mumps is typically mild in children but can lead to serious complications in older people.
Symptoms include swollen salivary glands, headaches, a fever and joint pain.
André Charlett, of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “Cases are so low at the moment that they are bound to bounce back.
“It’s likely we’ll see a sudden surge in cases, similar to the measles outbreak.
“It could be bad for unvaccinated young adults.”
About one in 10 men whose testicles are affected see a fall in sperm count.
Women’s ovaries may swell.
Prof Paul Hunter, at the University of East Anglia, said: “Another rare complication is a brain infection.”
Dr Susan Hahné, of journal Epidemiology & Infection, added: “It’s just a matter of time before the UK sees a rise in cases.”
Mumps is a contagious viral infection that used to be common in children before the introduction of the MMR vaccine.
Mumps is most recognisable by the painful swellings in the side of the face under the ears (the parotid glands), giving a person with mumps a distinctive “hamster face” appearance.
Other symptoms of mumps include headaches, joint pain and a high temperature, which may develop a few days before the swelling of the parotid glands.
While mumps is not usually serious, the condition has similar symptoms to more serious types of infection, such as glandular fever and tonsillitis.
Your GP can usually make a diagnosis after seeing and feeling the swelling, looking at the position of the tonsils in the mouth and checking the person’s temperature to see if it’s higher than normal.
Mumps is spread in the same way as colds and flu: through infected droplets of saliva that can be inhaled or picked up from surfaces and transferred into the mouth or nose.
A person is most contagious a few days before the symptoms develop and for a few days afterwards.
During this time, it’s important to prevent the infection spreading to others, particularly teenagers and young adults who have not been vaccinated.
If you have mumps, you can help prevent it spreading by:
Source: NHS
