Whenever a delicious dessert makes your mouth water, your salivary glands are at work. The largest of these glands, called the parotids, are located between your ears and your upper jaw. When the parotid glands become infected with the mumps virus, they swell, giving the illness its telltale symptom of chipmunk cheeks.

Named for an old word meaning either “lump” or “mumble,” mumps is spread through infected saliva by inhaling a sneeze or sharing utensils or beverages. In 15 percent of cases, there are no signs. But, for the unlucky majority, symptoms appear about 2 to 3 weeks after infection; they include a fever, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, swollen salivary glands, and pain when chewing or swallowing. Although most people fully recover within 2 weeks, mumps can lead to potentially dangerous complications. If the virus spreads, it can cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and even hearing loss. Other complications include orchitis (inflammation of the testicles) in men, oophoritis (inflammation of the ovaries) in women, and miscarriage in pregnant women.

Although the majority of cases occur in children younger than 15, young adults who get mumps are at serious risk for sterility. Thanks to the invention of the mumps vaccine in 1967, the average number of people affected by mumps each year has dwindled from 200,000 to less than 1,000. Still, outbreaks of the disease occur: In 2006, more than 1,100 people in the Midwest were infected with the virus.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  1. According to Irish lore, rubbing the head of a child with mumps against the back of a pig could cause the illness to transfer to the animal and cure the child.
  2. The mumps vaccine, a series of two inoculations, is usually given in combination with those for measles and rubella.