Students suffering as cases of mumps treble

By DANIEL MARTIN FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Updated:

The number of mumps cases has tripled in a year, with university students the hardest hit.

In January and February, there were almost 1,000 confirmed cases in England and Wales, three times the number in the first two months of both 2007 and 2008.

Experts say the high levels could continue for some time, although the figures are still far lower than the last major epidemic in 2005 when 43,000 cases were reported.

mmr

Dr Andrew Wakefield (centre) in 2007. He was the doctor at the centre of the link between MMR and autism which saw hundreds of people turning down the jab for their children

Rates of measles have also been increasing in recent months, because of a low take-up of the MMR jab which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

But many of the mumps cases are people born before the vaccine was introduced in 1988.

Dr Mary Ramsay, immunisation expert at the Health Protection Agency, said: 'Some in this age group were too old to be routinely vaccinated with MMR and others may have received only one dose of MMR.

'The number of cases has increased more steeply in recent years because many of these young adults are now at university or further education colleges. Large numbers of people in semi-closed institutions allow the disease to pass more easily.'

Mumps, one of the more common childhood illnesses, causes high temperatures and swelling of the salivary glands near the jaw, making it difficult to open the mouth, talk, eat or drink.

It can affect other organs – leading in some serious cases to hearing loss and infertility.

The virus which causes it can also trigger potentially-fatal meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes of the brain or spinal cord

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