Check your vaccinations!
A rise in cases of Mumps in Canada has public health officials asking young adults to check if they need a vaccination booster. The standard vaccination is two doses starting with the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age, and the second dose at 4 through 6 years of age. Teens and adults also should also be up to date on their MMR vaccination. *(measles, mumps & rubella)

Mumps is a viral infection that is contagious and spread through saliva and respiratory droplets, causing swelling of the salivary glands. **   Prior to having a vaccination against mumps available in the mid-sixties in Canada, mumps among school-age children was common in fact a rite of passage.   In early 1970’s the vaccine was combined to offer protection against measles, mumps. and rubella. (MMR).

But providing a second round of the vaccine wasn’t practiced until the 1990’s, which has led to a small gap in immunity for those born between 1970 and 1994.

The gap in immunity for those that have not had a second dose is one of the reasons, health officials believe there is a rise in the infection.  The other is because of growing numbers of individuals who have never been vaccinated for mumps and are infectious while coming into contact where are a lot of people sharing food and drinks. It takes between two to five days before the infection begins to show swelling and other symptoms. Once mumps has been diagnosed, the usual procedure is to keep the individual in isolation until the infection subsides.

The symptoms of mumps include fever, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite and inflammation and tenderness of one or both salivary glands

Mumps is serious and can have long term affects such as deafness, or sterility in males.

So, it is extremely important that you check your vaccination records with your family physician to ensure they are up to date.

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Mumps are making a comeback in Canada.Disclaimer

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Sources:  * Center for Disease Control  ** Wikipedia -Mumps