About Mumps
Mumps is a disease caused by a virus that usually spreads through saliva (spit). It can infect many parts of the body, especially the parotid salivary glands. These glands, which make saliva for the mouth, are found toward the back of each cheek, in the area between the ear and jaw. In cases of mumps, these glands typically swell and become painful.
Mumps was common until the mumps vaccine came out in 1967. Before the vaccine, more than 200,000 cases occurred each year in the United States. Since then the number of cases has dropped to fewer than 1,000 a year, and epidemics have become fairly rare.
As in the pre-vaccine era, most cases of mumps are still in kids ages 5-14, but the rate among young adults has increased over the last two decades. Mumps infections are uncommon in kids younger than 1 year old.
After someone has the mumps, it is very unusual to have a second bout because most people have lifelong protection after their first infection. Because other infections can cause swelling in the salivary glands, though, a parent might mistakenly think a child has had mumps more than once.