News

13th May 2005

Mumps increase across the UK

Experts have said that there is a mumps epidemic across the UK with nearly 5000 cases in January alone.

Most of the cases have been in young adults but two seperate papers in the British Medical Journal say that cases are also cropping up in vulnerable children.

Cases are being seen in people born before MMR became routine in 1988 and children who have not been vaccinated, possibly due to vaccine safety fears.

The first paper commisioned by the Health Protection Agency reports that in 2004, the number of cases of mumps recorded in England and Wales hit 16,436, up from 4,204 in 2003.

In the second paper, Dr Ravindra Gupta, from London's Guy's and St Thomas', working with colleagues from King's College London, found cases have also occurring in very young children who would have been eligible for the MMR vaccine.

However, despite World Health Organisation recommendations that at least 90 per cent of eligible children should be vaccinated against MMR, in 1995 the UK saw the uptake drop from 92 per cent to just over 80 per cent.

Dr Gupta said, "In some areas of London, as few as 60% of two-year-olds had received a first dose of MMR.

"This would account for our recent experience with mumps in younger children."

Speaking on BBC's Breakfast programme, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said the rapid rise in cases of mumps "is a very real worry".

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: "The Department of Health has alerted GPs to the risk posed by mumps to young adults and recommends that every effort should be made to ensure that all children are fully immunised even if they are older than the recommended age range.

"Some higher education establishments have been offering special MMR sessions to protect these young people against mumps.

"The department supplies vaccine and leaflets for these sessions.

"In order to limit the spread of mumps in the UK, we recommend that all at-risk school leavers and other young adults who have not received MMR or only received one dose, should ensure that they take up the offer of MMR vaccination."

Mumps is a viral infection of the glands at the side of the face and is spread by coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include fever, shivering and swelling of the glands.

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