About the Disease

Mumps is a viral infection of the parotid glands, one of three pairs of salivary glands located below and in front of your ears. In most mumps cases both glands are affected, causing the cheeks to bulge out as if stuffed with food.

The disease is spread through contact with saliva. Mumps has been in decline in the U.S. Since 1995, fewer than 1,000 cases have been reported annually. However, the risk for exposure to mumps outside the U.S. can be high, as less than 40% of the world's countries use the vaccine.

In 2001 in Mississippi, there were six cases of mumps reported. All cases occurred in children under the age of seven.