Mumps Directory
Mumps is a contagious viral infection that can cause painful swelling of the salivary glands. Mumps starts just like most other viral diseases, with fever, tiredness, muscle aches, and/or loss of appetite. The classic sign of mumps -- swollen glands -- don't appear right away, and sometimes they do not appear at all. There is a vaccine to prevent mumps. Follow the links below to find WebMD's comprehensive coverage about how mumps is contracted, what it looks like, how to prevent it, and much more.
Medical Reference
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Can Adults Get Mumps?
Mumps was once a common childhood virus. But can adults get it, too? Learn what might put you at risk and how you can reduce your chances of getting this once-common infection.
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What Are Mumps?
Mumps is a viral infection that can cause swelling of the salivary glands. Find out what causes it, who’s likely to get it, and what the treatment involves.
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Inflammation of the Testicle (Orchitis)
Learn more from WebMD about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of orchitis, inflammation of one or both testicles that is usually caused by an infection.
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Inflammation of the Testicle (Orchitis) Treatment
Swollen testicles can be a sign of infection or torsion. WebMD tells you what to do if you have this condition.
Features
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Child Vaccines: Some Parents Ill at Ease
Does the private right of parents to not vaccinate their kids trump the greater public good?
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Get an 'A' in Vaccines
Vaccines have proved so successful in eliminating their target diseases that some parents of school-aged children have gotten a bit lax about completing the complicated battery of injections.
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Vaccine Linked to Autism?
Eric Gallup was a normally developing 15-month-old toddler living in Parsippany, New Jersey, when his parents took him for his first measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination in 1986. Shortly after he was vaccinated, they noticed changes in his behavior and ability to communicate. In 1989 he was diagnosed with autism.
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How Your Vaccines are Approved
The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that each year up to 50,000 children and adults are hospitalized because of the virus, and that 20 to 40 people die from it.