Mumps Outbreak: Hospitals across the National Capital are witnessing a spike in the cases of mumps, a highly contagious viral infection. According to a report by the Indian Express, in the last two months the city hospitals are reporting five to six cases of complications due to mumps.
According to experts, a drop in vaccination rate due to the Covid pandemic could be a major reason for the spike. The report further said that most patients are 6-7 years of age.
According media reports, young adults between 18 and 25 are also visiting the hospitals with symptoms of mumps. Though the viral infection appears to be spreading in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, and Maharashtra have seen rising mumps cases in children in the past few months.
“The rise in mumps cases in Bangalore is concerning, with 1-2 cases reported weekly. Mumps, a contagious viral infection, presents symptoms like swollen salivary glands, fever, and headache. Early signs include fatigue and loss of appetite. Precautions such as frequent handwashing and avoiding close contact with infected individuals are crucial. The main cause is viral transmission through respiratory droplets. Vaccination, while not foolproof, remains the best preventive measure,” Dr Nidhin Mohan, Consultant Internal Medicines, Narayana Health City, said.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry data shows over 15,000 cases of mumps have been reported between the January to March period this year.
What is mumps?
A highly contagious diseases, mumps is caused by the mumps virus, which belongs to a group of viruses known as paramyxoviruses. According to Mayo Clinic, mumps usually affects the glands on each side of the face. These glands, called parotid glands, make saliva. When the glands become swollen it may get tender or painful.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that the viral infection usually begins with a few days of fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite. The infection leads to puffy cheeks and a tender, swollen jaw.
Even though the vaccine has drastically reduced mumps cases, outbreaks still occur.
Dr Satish Koul, Senior Director & Unit Head, Internal Medicine, Fortis Memorial Research Intitute, Gurugram explained that the spectrum of illness is from subclinical infection to severe meningoencephalitis. mumps cases exhibits a seasonal variation that has been well recognized in various countries.
“Although these phenomena have not been well explained, the seasonality of mumps provides evidence that meteorological factors might play a key role in its occurrence. It has been shown that the incidence of mumps is influenced by the level of temperature and humidity. Increases in temperature and humidity improve the duration of virus survival and virulence in the environment, which consequently increases the opportunities for hosts to become infected with mumps,” Dr. Koul told Financial Express.com.
The effects of weather factors on infectious diseases have received global attention in the context of climate change in recent years, he said.
“A further understanding of the relationships between meteorological factors and occurrence of mumps could help improve both disease forecasting and preventive efforts,” he added.
What are the symptoms?
Usually, mumps is best known for the puffy cheeks and tender and swollen jaw. Other symptoms that might begin a few days before parotitis include:
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Tiredness
- Loss of appetite
According to CDC, symptoms typically appear 16-18 days after infection, but this period can range from 12–25 days after infection. Some people who get mumps have very mild symptoms (like a cold), or no symptoms at all and may not know they have the disease.
The CDC also maintains that in rare cases, mumps can cause more severe complications. Most people with mumps recover completely within two weeks.
How is mumps treated?
There’s no specific treatment for mumps. According to Cleveland Clinic, the disease goes away on its own within a couple of weeks. Usually the focus is to alleviating your child’s symptoms to make them as comfortable as possible.
The following steps can help manage symptoms:
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Gargle warm salt water.
- Eat soft, easy-to-chew foods.
- Avoid acidic foods that make your mouth water.
- Suck on an ice pop to soothe a sore throat.
- Place ice or heat packs on swollen glands.
- Take non-aspirin medications such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen to reduce fever and help with pain.
However, do not give aspirin to your child. Children with viruses such as mumps who take aspirin can develop Reye’s syndrome, a dangerous disease that causes liver failure, swelling of their brain and even death, Cleveland Clinic warns.
How to prevent mumps?
Although it is a high contagious disease it can be prevented with mumps vaccine. Children usually receive two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine as part of the childhood immunization schedule. This combination vaccine protects the child against measles, mumps and rubella.
“Various analysis has demonstrated that vaccination rate play important roles in the spread of mumps. Hence, the need is to increase the vaccine coverage and make two doses of MMR (Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine) vaccine easily available,” Dr. Koul said.
