Mumps In The Road

The Rubulavirus is making a scary comeback

- Jessica Wapner

LATE LAST summer, a family in northwest Arkansas was stricken with mumps, possibly brought by a relative visiting from Iowa. The virus spread quickly among public school students in Springdale, the fourth-largest city in Arkansas. Initially, immigrants from the Marshall Islands, a prominent community in the region, were particularly hard-hit, most likely because they tend to live in overcrowded homes due to poverty. But the virus, which is extremely contagious, was not confined to any particular population. At the height of the outbreak, which was near the end of 2016, about 50 new cases were reported to the Arkansas Department of Health every day.

Across the U.S., mumps has been making a surprising comeback. Outbreaks in Washington state, upstate New York, Oklahoma, Indiana and elsewhere in 2016 pushed the virus to its severest spread since 2006. The infections are not confined to unvaccinated children, so parents who chose not to immunize their children cannot be blamed entirely. Rather, the door was likely opened by the frustrating imperfection of the vaccine. But rising vaccine abstention may allow the outbreaks to persist.

The mumps virus, a member of a family called Rubulavirus, is made of a single strand of RNA inside a protein bag. The virus targets the central nervous system, which is why it can sometimes lead to encephalitis or meningitis. More commonly, a case of mumps leads to painfully swollen salivary glands, fever, muscle pain, headaches and tiredness. In some men, mumps swells testicles, occasionally resulting in infertility. Some children emerge from the illness permanently deaf. No medical treatment for mumps exists, so although most cases resolve on their own, the risk of damaging side effects warrants preventive measures.