Yes, but this happens not so often. Mumps is a contagious viral infection spread through droplets of saliva or mucous from the mouth, nose and throat direct infection

Indirect infection is similar, if not more important, way that humans acquire most contagious diseases, not only mumps; the organism is transmitted from the sick person to items by touching, the sick person's hands, contaminated with his nasal or oral secretions, lay the organisms on the surface of those items and an unexpected person then touches or shares that item and catches the disease causing organisms.

Skin usually acts as a good barrier for organism penetration, but mucosal membranes can easily transfer those organisms, it only takes a person with contaminated hands to touch his nose or rub his eyes and voila he catches the disease.

The most common symptoms include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Tiredness
• Loss of appetite
• Swollen and tender salivary glands under the ears on one or both sides (parotitis)

A child stays contagious for 5 full days after his salivary gland swells, so kids with mumps should abstain from going to school for almost a week after contracting the Mumps.

If you hear that a kid in your child’s classroom got Mumps, you won’t be able to tell if your child caught it or not before 25 days (time of incubation). Still, even if he catches the disease, don’t worry usually he will recover in a week or two unless he develops one of mumps serious complications such as:

• Inflammation of the gonads (inflammation of the testicles is more common than inflammation of the ovaries) rarely leads to infertility.
• Inflammation of the brain or the linings covering the brain Meningitis
• Inflammation of the pancreas, a gland that secretes insulin and fat digesting enzymes, usually leads to severe abdominal pain, vomiting and lack of appetite.
• Inflammation of the mammary glands can affect both males and females
• Finally deafness, so don’t be astonished if your pediatrician requests a hearing screening test after having a mump infection especially if it was complicated by mumps meningitis.

The Mumps vaccine is given at the age of twelve months with a booster dose at the age of four, and it is still considered the best protective way to avoid mumps infection.

 

Written by Dr. Ammar Al Hakim, Pediatric consultant