Severe mumps outbreak hits hundreds of students across UK after fall in MMR vaccine in 90s

A SEVERE mumps outbreak is spreading across British universities with hundreds of students struck down by the virus.

Figures from Public Health England show there has been more than 7,200 suspected mumps cases reported in the UK since July.

Public Health England figures show there has been more than 7,200 suspected mumps cases reported in the UK since JulyCredit: Getty – Contributor

Outbreaks of the highly infectious disease have been reported at universities including Bristol, Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh in recent weeks.

The surge is linked to a fall in the uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in the 90s – when the current generation of students were born.

In 1998, Dr Andrew Wakefield claimed there was a link between the vaccine and autism, but his research has since been discredited and he has been struck off in the UK.

‘Time bomb’

Health officials are now urging anyone who hasn’t had the jab to get vaccinated amid fears of a “public health time bomb”.

Simon Stevens, of NHS England, said: “Mumps is infectious and causes serious health complications, and the stark rise in cases is another reminder that opting out of protective jabs like MMR is dangerous and can make preventable diseases fatal.

“Dangerous misinformation about vaccines and falling uptake are a public health time bomb.”

Anti-vax revival

It comes amid a revival of the so-called “anti-vax” movement with fake social media scare stories spread online.

Mr Stevens called on websites such as Facebook and YouTube to adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to the fake posts about the dangers of vaccines.

He said users who spread the baseless content were “grossly irresponsible”.

Worryingly, measles cases have jumped up by 50 per cent in the last year, according to the World Health Organisation.

What are the symptoms of mumps?

Mumps is a contagious viral infection that used to be common in children before the introduction of the MMR vaccine.

The symptoms of mumps usually develop 14 to 25 days after becoming infected with the mumps virus – this delay is known as the incubation period.

The average incubation period is around 17 days.

Swelling of the parotid glands is the most common symptom of mumps.

The parotid glands are a pair of glands responsible for producing saliva.

They’re located in either side of your face, just below your ears.

Both glands are usually affected by the swelling, although sometimes only one gland is affected.

The swelling can cause pain, tenderness and difficulty with swallowing.

More general symptoms often develop a few days before the parotid glands swell. These can include:

headache
joint pain
feeling sick
dry mouth
mild abdominal pain
feeling tired
loss of appetite
a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F), or above

In about 1 in 3 cases, mumps doesn’t cause any noticeable symptoms.

If you suspect you or your child has mumps, it’s important to call your GP.

While the infection isn’t usually serious, mumps has similar symptoms to other, more serious infections, such as glandular fever and tonsillitis. It’s always best to visit your GP so they can confirm (or rule out) a diagnosis of mumps.

It’s also important to let your GP know in advance if you’re coming to the surgery so they can take any necessary precautions to avoid the spread of infection.

Source: NHS

The global health body said it was an “outrage” that most of the 140,000 people killed by the disease were children under five – who hadn’t been vaccinated.

It also revealed that measles had infected 10 million people in every region of the world last year, despite being preventable.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, WHO director general, said: “The fact that any child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease like measles is frankly an outrage and a collective failure to protect the world’s most vulnerable children.”