Let's talk infectious diseases, the reason for vaccines: ᴹᵘᵐᵖˢ

Mumps is caused by a virus that enters the body through the mucous membranes, which are the areas that line the inside of your mouth, nose, and throat. The virus that causes mumps is a paramyxovirus.

Mumps is easily transmitted through casual contact and therefore HIGHLY contagious. The virus can survive in respiratory fluids, and this is how it is transmitted from person to person. You can also catch the virus if you touch objects that have the virus on them. Sharing cups, utensils, and other objects, or being in close contact with someone who has mumps can also increase your chances of getting the infection. Lack of good hygiene, such as hand washing, can increase the spread of the virus. The incubation period for mumps is about two to three weeks. Infection with mumps is not common because many people are vaccinated. However, you can get the infection if you have not been vaccinated, or, in rare instances are immunosuppressed.

The paramyxovirus causes an immune reaction as the body tries to fight it, which exacerbates the symptoms, causing the flu-like symptoms and the characteristic swelling of the face and neck. It is also described as a neurotrophic virus, which means that it has a tendency to travel to the nervous system. The virus can also affect other parts of the body, including the pancreas and testes, often causing painful enlargement and swelling of these areas.

Symptoms usually appear about two days after infection and can last as long as two weeks. Typically, the initial symptoms include:

▪️Fever

▪️A headache

▪️Swollen, painful salivary glands under the ears or jaw (in about 30% to 40% of cases)

▪️Ear pain

▪️Facial pain

There is no specific antiviral treatment and antibiotics will have no effect on the disease. The only course of treatment is reactive - acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be used to reduce the fever and relieve pain, cold and warm compresses can be used for the swollen glands - or proactive, i.e. vaccinate.

The first written description of mumps as a disease can be found as far back as the 5th century BC. The father of medicine Hippocrates described an outbreak of mumps on the Greek island of Thasos in approximately 410BC, which modern physicians today still refer back to as a masterful documentation of the disease.

“Swellings appeared about the ears, in many on either side, and in the greatest number on both sides,” the passage reads. “They were of a lax, large, diffused character, without inflammation or pain, and they went away without any critical sign.”

But then not another word about mumps appears in medical history accounts until 1934! The cause of mumps was finally discovered and documented by Claud D. Johnson and Ernest W. Goodpasture. But it took another 11 years to isolate the virus and by 1948 an inactivated vaccine had been developed. However, it had a short immunity life and was soon replaced with other more effective versions.

In 1971 the MMR was licensed for use. It is a combination measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. That combination will be discussed in a different post.

{You can find all the sources I used by clicking here.}