Mumps is Transmitted by Droplets

Abstract

Mumps is an acute, contagious viral disease with characteristic enlargement and pain of the salivary glands, most often the parotid. The diagnosis is usually made on the basis of the clinical picture, and the treatment is supportive. The mumps vaccine is very effective. The causative agent of mumps is paramyxovirus, which is transmitted through saliva and droplets. The virus probably enters the body through the mucous membrane of the nose or mouth, and it can be found in saliva six days before the swelling of the salivary glands. It can also be found in blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid. After overcoming the disease, permanent immunity usually remains. It usually occurs endemically in overcrowded areas, but it can also occur in the form of epidemics. It appears mainly in the unvaccinated population, most often in winter and early spring. It most often affects children aged 5 to 10, although it can appear at any age. It rarely appears in children under 2 years of age, and especially rarely in children in the first year of life. In 25 to 30% of those infected, the disease goes clinically unnoticed.