The 9 signs of testicle-swelling mumps virus that can prove fatal as UK faces epidemic

MUMPS was once a common childhood illness – that was until a vaccination for it was launched in the late Eighties.

Now, on the whole, it’s relatively rare.

But there are still sporadic outbreaks in the UK, typically taking place every three to four years among unvaccinated groups.

Experts have warned a mumps epidemic is expected to hit Britain soon, with teenagers and young adults most at risk.

The viral condition is most recognisable by painful swellings of the salivary glands, particularly the parotid glands.

This gives a person with mumps a distinctive “hamster face” appearance.

But the face is not the only part of the body that can swell up – in rare cases, the testes, the pancreas, the brain and the ovaries can too.

With cases set to surge – this winter, or the next – knowing some of the symptoms could be lifesaving.

Measles symptoms typically start appearing about 12 days after infection.

They can include:

1. Swelling of the parotid glands (hamster face) – this can make it difficult to speak and chew
2. Headache
3. Joint pain
4. Feeling sick
5. Dry mouth
6. Mild abdominal pain
7. Feeling tired
8. Loss of appetite
9. A high temperature

In about one in six cases, mumps don’t cause any noticeable symptoms, according to the NHS.

There is no treatment for mumps, which tends to affect teenagers and children, and symptoms should pass in a week or two.

The infection can spread in the same way you would pick up cold and flu, as the contaminated saliva droplets are transferred from person to person.

NHS guidance says to “stay at home” for five days after symptoms are first spotted.

COMPLICATIONS

Mumps is typically mild in children but can lead to serious complications in unvaccinated young adults.

This group, often referred to as the “Wakefield cohort,” was impacted by the 1990s vaccine-autism scare, which led to a decline in MMR vaccinations among now 18-26-year-olds. 

In adults, mumps can lead to swelling of the testes, which has been linked to infertility. 

“You don’t want to catch mumps before you start trying to have children and then find out it’s left you infertile,” Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in medicine at the University of East Anglia, told The Sun.

Just under half of all males who get mumps-related orchitis notice some shrinkage of their testicles. 

An estimated one in 10 men experience a drop in their sperm count, which can cause infertility. 

Mumps can also lead to swelling of the ovaries, known as ovaritis, which is painful but does not typically result in infertility.

Another risk is the chance of developing viral meningitis, where the virus moves into the outer areas of the brain.

It occurs in one in four cases of mumps and comes with symptoms like sensitivity to light, neck stiffness and headache.

But unlike bacterial meningitis, it’s not usually considered life-threatening, though still important to report symptoms.

In some cases, meningitis can trigger encephalitis, a rare but serious complication.

What vaccines should you or your child have at each age?

Eight weeks

• 6-in-1 vaccine
• Rotavirus vaccine
• MenB vaccine

12 weeks

• 6-in-1 vaccine (2nd dose)
• Pneumococcal vaccine
• Rotavirus vaccine (2nd dose)

16 weeks

• 6-in-1 vaccine (3rd dose)
• MenB vaccine (2nd dose)

One year

• Hib/MenC vaccine (1st dose)
• MMR vaccine (1st dose)
• Pneumococcal vaccine (2nd dose)
• MenB vaccine (3rd dose)

Two to 15 years

• Children’s flu vaccine (every year until children finish Year 11 of secondary school)

Three years and four months

• MMR vaccine (2nd dose)
• 4-in-1 pre-school booster vaccine

12 to 13 years

• HPV vaccine

14 years

• 3-in-1 teenage booster vaccine
• MenACWY vaccine

65 years

• Flu vaccine (given every year after turning 65)
• Pneumococcal vaccine
• Shingles vaccine (if you turned 65 on or after 1 September 2023)

70 to 79 years

• Shingles vaccine

Source: The NHS

Encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, is a potentially fatal condition that requires admission to intensive care.

This only occurs in around one in 1,000 people who get viral meningitis from mumps

The infection can affect your ears and lead to temporary deafness.

This occurs in about one in 25 cases and will only be permanent in about one in 20,000 cases.

It can also trigger acute pancreatitis, a serious condition that occurs when the pancreas becomes inflamed or swollen.

Although pancreatitis associated with mumps is usually mild, you may be admitted to the hospital so your body functions can be supported until your pancreas recovers.

 In the past, it was thought mumps could cause miscarriage if it was contracted in the first trimester.

There isn’t much evidence to support this, but the NHS advises pregnant women to avoid close contact with people who have an active mumps infection and contact their GP if they’re been in contact with someone with the virus.

‘JUST A MATTER OF TIME’

Mumps is prevented by the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, which also protects against measles and rubella.

But uptake has plummeted to a 15-year low, causing a surge in measles cases this year.

There were just 36 reports of mumps last year compared to 5,718 in 2019 and 3,738 in 2020, so medics say a boom could be recorded this winter.

Dr Andre Charlett, from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), told The Sun: “Cases are so low at the moment that they are bound to bounce back – maybe this winter or next.

“It’s likely we’ll see a sudden surge in cases, similar to the measles outbreak we saw last year.”

“At this point, it’s just a matter of time before the UK sees a rise in mumps cases,” said Dr Susan Hahné, a senior medical epidemiologist and vaccine expert, from Amsterdam told The Sun at the ESCAIDE conference in Stockholm.

Teenagers and young adults are currently considered the most vulnerable to mumps due to their close contact and the fact a large group in that cohort remain unvaccinated.