Mumps is a contagious disease caused by a virus. Mumps usually occurs in children between the ages of five and fifteen, but is more likely to cause serious problems in adults. There is no cure for mumps, but it can be prevented with vaccination. Mumps is transmitted from person to person by direct contact with saliva and mucous from the nose and throat of infected individuals.
Mumps is contagious from six days before until nine days after the glands start swelling.
Symptoms of mumps include fever, swelling and pain in the salivary glands, usually the big ones near the ear and the jaw. Approximately one-third of infected people do not exhibit symptoms. Other symptoms include headache, stiff neck, and loss of appetite. Less commonly, mumps can lead to hearing loss, meningitis, and the swelling of ovaries or testicles. There is a vaccine to prevent mumps, the MMR vaccine prevents measles and rubella as well as mumps.