There has been concern recently about an outbreak of mumps in Harare, Bulawayo and other parts of the country, with more than 1 000 cases recorded in Harare alone over the past month.
The Harare City Council has embarked on a mass vaccination campaign to stem the spread of the disease. Health authorities have urged those affected by mumps to seek early treatment.
Mumps is a contagious disease that is passed from one person to another through saliva, nasal secretions or close personal contact.
It mainly affects the parotid glands below and in front of the ears, generally causing them to swell. The parotid glands are one of three pairs of glands that produce saliva.
Mumps is most infectious in the period between infection and the swelling of the parotid glands. A person with mumps remains infectious for up to a week after the symptoms appear but is already infectious before the symptoms appear.
It is important for the infected person to be isolated to prevent the virus spreading to others.
Mumps is commonest among children under the age of 12 but adults can catch it as well.
Causes
Mumps is caused by a virus that spreads easily from one person to another through infected saliva. It is spread in the same way as flu or Covid-19 through infected droplets that can be inhaled or picked up from surfaces and transferred into the mouth or nose.
When an infected person sneezes or coughs, tiny infected droplets may be released into the air, which may be breathed in by another person, resulting in that person becoming infected.
If an infected person touches his or her nose or mouth and then touches something else or a surface, such as a work surface or hand rail, the virus may be deposited there and infect others who touch it and then touch their nose or mouth.
It is also possible to become infected through using the same cutlery and plates as an infected person, sharing food and drink with someone who is infected and through kissing an infected person.
A person is most contagious before the symptoms develop and for a few days afterwards. It is important during this period to prevent the infection spreading to others, particularly teenagers and young adults who have not been vaccinated.
Since symptoms may not appear for up to three weeks after infection, it is easily transmitted unknowingly. If you have been in contact with someone with mumps even if it was up to three weeks before the symptoms appeared, it is advisable to minimise contact with other people in case you have become infected yourself and could pass the virus on to them.
Symptoms
Symptoms usually appear two or three weeks after infection. Some people display no symptoms or only mild ones. The most recognisable symptom is the painful swellings that appear on one or both sides of the face below the ears.
Other symptoms include fatigue, body aches, headache, loss of appetite, pain when chewing or swallowing, fever and a dry mouth.
Diagnosis
If mumps is suspected as a result of a swelling below one or both of your ears, a doctor can usually confirm whether it is mumps after seeing and feeling the swelling, looking at the tonsils to ensure the swelling is not due to tonsillitis and checking your body temperature.
A blood test to check for antibodies that fight the mumps virus may be done to confirm the diagnosis.
Treatment
There is currently no cure for mumps. However, the symptoms can be treated to make you more comfortable during the illness. Treatment is limited to easing the symptoms until the body’s immune system fights off the infection.
It includes plenty of rest, particularly when you feel weak or tired, drinking plenty of fluids and taking over-the-counter medication for pain relief and to bring down your temperature. A warm or cold compress can be applied to the swollen glands to soothe them.
You will need a soft diet, such as soup, yogurt and other foods that are not hard to chew, since chewing may be painful when your glands are swollen. Avoid acidic foods and beverages that may make your salivary glands more painful. Gargling with warm salt water may be helpful.
Complications
Most mumps complications involve inflammation and swelling in parts of the body such as the testicles, breasts and ovaries.
Swelling can occur in one or both testicles of males who have reached puberty. The condition, known as orchitis, is painful. A cold compress can be used to ease the pain. Orchitis rarely leads to sterility but can reduce fertility.
Females who have reached puberty may experience inflammation of their ovaries (oophoritis) or breasts (mastitis). This rarely affects their fertility.
In pregnant women mumps may lead to a miscarriage, particularly in the early stages of pregnancy.
Mumps can also lead to loss of hearing, inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatis), inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and meningitis.
Prevention
The best way to prevent mumps is to be vaccinated against it. The vaccine is usually given as a Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) inoculation. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are recommended before a child starts school, with the first dose ideally being given between the ages of 12 and 15 months and the second one between the ages of four and six. If you have already had mumps you are unlikely to catch it again.
Avoid contact with a person who is known to have mumps until the condition is no longer infectious, which is generally a week after the symptoms have appeared.
If you or your child have mumps, prevent it from spreading to others by staying away from work or school for a week after the symptoms appear and keeping away from family members as far as you can, unless they have already had mumps or been vaccinated against it.
As with other diseases that can be spread through droplets, wash your hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water. Always cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you sneeze or cough. Dispose of the tissue immediately afterwards.
The information in this article is provided as a public service by the Cimas iGo wellness programme, which is designed to promote good health. It is provided for general information only and should not be construed as medical advice. Readers should consult their doctor or clinic on any matter related to their health or the treatment of any health problem. To contact the iGo team, email igo@cimas.co.zw or WhatsApp 0772 161 829 or phone 024-27730663.
