UK:MUMPS

MUMPS - UK (03): (ENGLAND) UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
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A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org/>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org/>
Date: Thu 5 May 2011
Source: BBC New UK [edited]
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-13295418>

University mumps vaccine outbreak advice
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Students across north west England have been advised to check their
vaccination records after outbreaks of mumps at 2 universities. The
disease has affected 47 students at the University of Central
Lancashire (UCLan) and 35 at the University of Manchester since
February [2011].
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has advised students to ask their
GPs [general practitioners] if they have had the full MMR [mumps,
measles, and rubella] vaccine. It said some may have missed out on
their 2nd protective dose of MMR.
Dr Sam Ghebrehewet of the HPA said: "Mumps is an ever-present risk in
universities and further education colleges. It is an infectious
disease that spreads easily amongst young adults who missed out on the
protection of 2 doses of MMR vaccine when they were children. 2 doses
of the MMR vaccine are necessary for full protection."
Mumps is a viral illness marked by symptoms of swollen neck glands,
fever, and headache. Its complications can result in meningitis and
deafness.
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Communicated by:
HealthMap Alerts via ProMED-mail
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[Mumps outbreaks often occur in congregate settings, where prolonged,
close contacts facilitate transmission. Mumps is spread by droplets of
saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose, or throat of an infected person,
usually when the person coughs, sneezes, or talks. Items used by an
infected person, such as cups or soft drink cans, can also be
contaminated with the virus, which may spread to others if those items
are shared. Most mumps transmission likely occurs before the salivary
glands begin to swell and within the 5 days after the swelling begins.
Therefore, mumps sufferers should be isolated for 5 days after their
glands begin to swell. The level of immunity produced by a single dose
of the MMR triple vaccine may not be fully protective (with regard to
mumps) and may decline with time. A 2nd dose of vaccine may be
required to produce adequate protection in all circumstances, and in
particular in the case of young adults who may have received only a
single dose of vaccine previously.