Why so many college students are coming down with the mumps
By Roni DenglerMar. 21, 2018 , 4:15 PM
Mumps, once a ubiquitous childhood disease, was nearly eliminated in the United States after a vaccine came out in 1967. (It was folded into the three-part measles, mumps, rubella [MMR] vaccine in 1971.) But the disease is making a comeback, this time in young adults; there have been hundreds of outbreaks across U.S. college campuses since the early 2000s. Now, a new study reveals why: Protection from the mumps vaccine fades over time. A booster shot around age 18 could solve the problem, the researchers say.
Spread through coughing, sneezing, or kissing, mumps causes an uncomfortable swelling of the salivary glands, leading to a swollen neck, fever, and headaches in young children; in adults, the virus can cause painfully swollen testicles, meningitis, and even permanent hearing loss.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/03/why-so-many-college-students-are-coming-down-mumps