Mumps vaccination

Martina Feichter studied biology with an elective subject pharmacy in Innsbruck and also immersed herself in the world of medicinal plants. From there it was not far to other medical topics that still captivate her to this day. She trained as a journalist at the Axel Springer Academy in Hamburg and has been working for since 2007 - first as an editor and since 2012 as a freelance writer.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

The mumps vaccination is recommended for all infants and also for certain adults.It is always given in combination with other vaccines, such as an MMR vaccine (against measles, mumps and rubella). Read more about the mumps vaccination here: How often and when is it administered? Can you get mumps even if you are vaccinated? What side effects can the vaccination have?

ICD codes for this disease: ICD codes are internationally recognized codes for medical diagnoses. They can be found, for example, in doctor's letters or on certificates of incapacity for work. B26

Mumps vaccination: when is it recommended?

The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) at the Robert Koch Institute recommends the mumps vaccination for all children aged 11 months and over. For the basic immunization - i.e. complete, safe protection against mumps viruses - two vaccinations are necessary. These should be given within the first two years of life.

In older children and adolescents who have only been vaccinated against mumps once or not at all, the mumps vaccination should be completed or completed as soon as possible.

The mumps vaccination is also recommended for employees in medical or community facilities (e.g. hospitals, medical practices, day-care centers, schools, holiday homes, refugee homes, etc.) if the person concerned was born after 1970, never had mumps and never or only once was vaccinated against mumps.

The mumps vaccine

There is currently no single vaccine against mumps, only combination vaccines that also protect against certain other pathogens:

The MMR vaccination prevents infection with measles, mumps and rubella.
The MMRV vaccination also protects against varicella (chickenpox).

The advantage of these combination vaccines over the individual vaccines is that fewer injections are required overall. For example, if someone wanted to be adequately protected against measles, mumps and rubella, a total of six injections would be required if the appropriate individual vaccines were used. When using the combined MMR vaccine, two injection syringes are sufficient for the same result.

Active immunization by live mumps vaccine

The vaccine against mumps contained in the MMR and MMRV vaccination consists of weakened, living pathogens (attenuated mumps viruses), so it is a live vaccine (just like the other vaccines against measles, rubella and varicella it contains).

The weakened pathogens cause no or at most mild symptoms, but still stimulate the immune system to form specific antibodies against the pathogen in question. It usually takes about ten to 14 days from the injection syringe to such a vaccination response. It is therefore an active vaccination - in contrast to passive immunization, in which finished antibodies are administered and their protection dries up after a short time.

Mumps vaccination: how is it carried out?

The STIKO experts recommend that infants receive the mumps vaccination (more precisely: the MMR or MMRV vaccination) according to the following schedule:

The first vaccination dose between 11 and 14 months of age
The second vaccination dose between the ages of 15 and 23 months
There should be at least four weeks between the two vaccination appointments

Older children and adolescents who have only received one mumps vaccination (i.e. MMR or MMRV vaccination) should receive the missing second vaccination dose as soon as possible.

Anyone who is completely unvaccinated and has not had a mumps disease will receive complete basic immunization with two doses of vaccine every four to six weeks. The same applies if the vaccination status is unclear.

The experts recommend that employees in the health service in training centers or in community facilities (including interns) who were born after 1970 and do not have (sufficient) immunity to mumps:

Anyone who has never been vaccinated against mumps or who has an unclear vaccination status should receive an MMR vaccination twice with an interval of at least four weeks.
Anyone who has been vaccinated against mumps at least once in the past will receive the missing second dose of the MMR vaccination.

If someone is already immune to one of the diseases measles, mumps, rubella or varicella (MMRV) (e.g. because of a previous illness), the MMR vaccination or MMRV vaccination can still be given. The risk of side effects does not increase.

How long does the mumps vaccination work?

If a person has received the complete basic vaccination - i.e. twice an MMR (V) vaccination syringe - the vaccination protection usually lasts for life. Even slightly decreasing vaccination titers (mumps antibodies are measured) do not affect vaccination protection according to the current state of knowledge. A mumps booster vaccination is therefore not necessary.

Where will the vaccine be injected?

The vaccine (MMR or MMRV vaccine) is usually injected into the side of the thigh, sometimes in the upper arm.

In addition, doctors usually choose the MMR vaccine for the first dose, while at the same time injecting the varicella vaccine individually at a different location (for example, thigh and upper arm). For the second dose, they then give the combined MMRV vaccination. The reason for this is the slightly increased risk of febrile seizures if the MMRV vaccine is used the first time.

Post-exposure vaccination

If people who have not been vaccinated against mumps, or have only been vaccinated once, or who do not know their vaccination status, have had contact with infected people, they can be vaccinated quickly. One then speaks of post-exposure vaccination or post-exposure prophylaxis (exposure = exposure to disease-causing factors such as mumps viruses). This is where medical professionals usually use the MMR vaccine.

If possible, it should take place three, at most five days after the (suspected) contact. It can protect against an outbreak of disease and alleviate the symptoms. It also helps to prevent the disease from spreading further after an outbreak, for example in a community orientation (locking vaccination).

Mumps vaccination: when should I not be vaccinated?

In some cases, doctors cannot give the mumps vaccine:

During pregnancy (see also notes below)
In acute, febrile illness (> 38.5 degrees Celsius) (a cold, however, is not a contraindication)
In the case of known hypersensitivity to components of the vaccine

A congenital or acquired immune deficiency has a special position: A severely weakened immune system can often not produce enough antibodies. However, affected patients also have an increased risk of complications from mumps. You could therefore particularly benefit from the vaccination. In such cases, it is best to talk to your doctor about the extent to which the mumps vaccination makes sense.

Mumps vaccination: pregnancy and breastfeeding

The mumps vaccine is a live vaccine and should therefore not be given during pregnancy. The weakened pathogens of live vaccines could endanger the unborn child under certain circumstances.

Women should not get pregnant for a month after a mumps vaccination!

If a vaccination was accidentally carried out, an abortion is not necessary. Numerous examined mumps vaccinations during or shortly before pregnancy did not show an increased risk of child malformations.

Breastfeeding mothers may receive the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Studies have shown that mothers can excrete and transmit the weakened vaccine virus through breast milk. So far, it has not been possible to determine that infants become ill as a result.

Mumps despite vaccination

The vaccination against mumps offers a very high, but not 100 percent, protection against infection. Therefore, it can happen that someone gets mumps despite the two doses of vaccine. The disease then usually progresses more easily than in non-vaccinated people.

Primary vaccination failure

But there are other reasons why, in rare cases, mumps occur despite vaccination. In some people, the immune system does not react or does not react sufficiently to the vaccination: the body does not produce any or too few antibodies against the mumps virus. Doctors speak of a primary vaccination failure - the vaccination protection is not given from the outset as hoped.

Secondary vaccination failure

There is also the possibility of secondary vaccination failure: Although the body initially produces sufficient antibodies against mumps, this vaccination protection decreases too much over time. At some point, immunity can be so low that contact with the pathogen leads to mumps, despite the vaccination.

Due to the very high vaccination rates, the vaccination protection is not naturally “refreshed” by “wild” mumps viruses. In addition, there are sub-forms of these naturally occurring mump pathogens against which the vaccination does not work safely, experts suspect.

Mumps vaccination: side effects

The mumps vaccination - or the MMR or MMRV vaccination - is generally well tolerated. Side effects rarely occur.

Local reactions at the injection site (reddening, swelling, pain) develop within the first three days of around five out of 100 vaccinated people. Sometimes a swelling of neighboring lymph nodes can also be observed.

Slight general symptoms such as fatigue, increased temperature or fever (in small children possibly with febrile convulsions), headaches or gastrointestinal complaints are also possible. All of these reactions to the vaccination usually subside after a short time without consequences.

One to four weeks after the mumps vaccination (i.e. MMR or MMRV vaccination), two to five out of 100 people who are vaccinated develop a mild skin rash, often accompanied by a fever. The rash is reminiscent of measles and is therefore called "vaccine measles". Occasionally, people who have been vaccinated also develop a slight swelling of the parotid gland (as in mumps).

Rarely, a slight temporary swelling of the testicles or joint discomfort occurs in response to the vaccination. The latter is most likely to be observed in adolescents and adults. Very rarely do allergic reactions or prolonged inflammation of the joints occur.

Encephalitis has also been observed in a few individual cases around the world. So far, however, it has not been proven that it was triggered by the vaccination.

If the body reacts to the mumps vaccination with a fever, fewer than 1 in 1,000 infants and young children vaccinated may develop febrile seizures. It usually has no further consequences.

No autism from the MMR vaccination!

A few years ago, a British survey with twelve participants unsettled the population. The study published in 1998 suggested a possible link between MMR vaccination and autism.

In the meantime, however, it has been found that false results were deliberately published - the responsible doctor and researcher was no longer allowed to practice and the published study was completely revoked.

In addition, later, high-quality studies could show that there is no connection between the MMR vaccination and the occurrence of autistic disorders. This includes a current large study from Denmark in which the data from more than 650,000 children were evaluated.

No diabetes from mumps vaccination

In rare cases, mumps viruses can cause inflammation of the pancreas - the organ that produces the messenger substance insulin. If the gland then produces too little insulin, diabetes develops.

Because of this, some people feared that the weakened vaccine virus could also inflame the organ and thus cause diabetes. To date, scientists have not been able to determine a connection between a mumps vaccination and diabetes in several studies. Even that the actual disease leads to diabetes has not yet been proven.