Mumps [muhmps]

Mumps virus (Orthorubulavirus parotitidis) is a paramyxovirus that causes the infective syndrome commonly known as mumps. Mumps often is characterized by a parotitic warping of facial morphology. In obsolete English, mump referred to an exaggerated facial expression or grimace.

A possible etymologic origin of mumps suggested by the Oxford English Dictionary is the Old French word mommer, which appears to date back to 1263. In the 1400s, that term was used to mean “play[ing] dice in a mask.” Later kindred words include the Middle Dutch term mommen (to go about in a mask or disguise) and the regional Norwegian word mompe (to chew with a full mouth).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that US mumps cases plummeted by >99% after the mumps vaccination program started in 1967, but mumps cases and outbreaks have increased since 2006. Vaccination coverage for kindergartners during the 2023–24 school year decreased to 92.7% for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine; US kindergartner exemptions from >1 vaccines increased from 3.0% to 3.3%, an uptrend mainly modified by the increase in nonmedical exemptions.

Figure.

Three-dimensional graphic representation of a spherical-shaped mumps virus particle. Illustrated by Alissa Eckert. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Image Library (https://phil.cdc.gov).