Cases of mumps quadruple in a year, with young adults in London at risk Post Reply

[Community Editor]

There has been a sudden surge in people catching mumps. A report by Public Health England shows that the number of confirmed cases of mumps in the first quarter of 2019 is higher than it's been since 2014, soaring from 162 at the end of 2018 to 756 in the first three months of 2019. 

London is one of the areas of England and Wales most affected by mumps, with those between the ages of 20 and 34 making up more than 60 per cent of cases - unsurprising given the number of people who have sneezed over us on public transport.

A Tooting resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, currently has mumps and told MyLondon that the GP who diagnosed him said there seemed to be an increase in cases because of the number of people who were against having vaccines. Despite having his full course of MMR vaccines the man still caught mumps because of the lack of 'herd immunisation'.

While public health campaigns have helped increase the number of people having vaccinations in recent years, social media has been fuelling fears of dangerous side effects with false information.

There was a huge breakout of mumps at two universities in Nottingham in March 2019, with more than 220 suspected cases - thought to be because students had not had both doses of the MMR vaccine.

See the NHS website for more information.

Photo credit: Mirrorpix

[K1999]

I realise the vaccine topic is a tricky subject to comment on. I had all the vaccines as a kid and my kids did too. I’m personally not prepared to take the risk of my kids getting any of the serious illnesses, one of which can be far worse in adulthood possibly causing infertility in adult males. Relying on herd immunity will gradually become less and less effective as less and less parents get their kids immunised!

[GigiBuffon]

What K1999 said .
I echo.