Having reported a single-day spike of 190 cases on March 10, 2024, Kerala is witnessing a mumps outbreak.
Health Ministry officials have confirmed the outbreak and notified the National Centre for Disease Control in the state.
Mumps is a contagious disease caused by the mumps virus (a type of paramyxoviruses).
The illness starts with mild symptoms such as headache, fever, and fatigue.
But then it typically leads to severe swelling in certain salivary glands (parotitis) that causes puffy cheeks and a tender, swollen jaw.
Mumps most commonly affects children between the ages of 2 to 12, who haven’t received the mumps vaccine.
However, adolescents and adults can get mumps despite being vaccinated against it. This occurs because there’s waning immunity of the vaccine after several years.
There’s no specific treatment for mumps. The disease must run its course and usually goes away on its own within a couple of weeks.
Mumps treatment focuses on alleviating the patient’s symptoms to make them as comfortable as possible.
The following steps can help manage symptoms: drinking plenty of fluids, gargling with warm salt water and eating non-acidic easy-to-chew foods.