Prevention of Mumps

Prevention of mumps can be achieved with a mumps vaccination. It is possible to just give a mumps vaccine only. However, this will only protect the child against mumps.

Nowadays it is more common to use the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. This will help the child in the prevention of mumps, measles and rubella.  The MMR vaccine is usually given to children at 12 to 15 months of age.

A second dose of MMR will then be given at 4 to 6 years of age. This vaccine should not be given later than 11 to 12 years of age.

MMR is an attenuated (weakened) live virus vaccine.  Therefore, after the child has been injected with it, the viruses grow and cause a harmless infection in the vaccinated person with very few, if any symptoms. This child’s immune system then fights the infection caused by these weakened viruses and immunity develops which lasts throughout that person’s life.

A little more than 95% of the children who receive a single dose of MMR will develop immunity to all three viruses.  A second dose of the MMR vaccine gives immunity to almost all of those who did not respond to the first dose

However, just by suffering with the mumps confers lifelong immunity. The vaccine is supposed to have a similar effect.  If the worldwide uptake of any vaccine is high enough, the actual disease can be eradicated, as is the case with smallpox.

It is therefore concluded that the vaccine is the best method in the prevention of mumps.