Outbreak of mumps at Nottingham universities

The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University have received reports in recent weeks of an outbreak of mumps among students.

According to Public Health England (PHE), there have been 51 confirmed and 241 further suspected cases across the two Nottingham universities.

There have also been a number of reported cases at the universities of Bath, Hull and Liverpool, while around 100 people have been reported to show signs of the infection at Temple University in the US.

Mumps is a virus and, similarly to a cold or the flu, is spread through saliva. As a consequence, mumps is highly contagious as coughing, sneezing and touching door handles may all lead to it spreading.

The most common symptom of mumps is swelling of the parotid glands situated beneath the ears. However, other symptoms may include a fever, joint pain or nausea.

Dr Vanessa McGregor from PHE advises all school leavers and university students who have not yet been vaccinated to “ensure that they take up the offer of MMR vaccination”.

Dr McGregor warned that “young adults who have not had two doses of MMR vaccine are particularly vulnerable”.

Young adults who have not had two doses of MMR vaccine are particularly vulnerable

– Dr Vanessa McGregor

A spokesman for Nottingham Trent University said it was offering support to those affected: “If any students have any symptoms of the illness we would encourage them to visit their GP as they would do normally and inform a relevant member of staff on their course if it has an impact on their studies.”

There does not appear to be any reason as to why the Nottingham numbers are much higher, though experts have said it could be that there is a higher number of people in the city who are not immune.

Professor Jonathan Ball, a professor at the University of Nottingham, said that of the three diseases vaccinated against in the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination, mumps is the least effective.

He said: “For the mumps vaccine, we expect about 88% of people vaccinated to be protected, whereas for the measles vaccine this is as high as 98%.

“If you then add unvaccinated people into the mix, it is easy to see how a relatively contagious virus as mumps can spread so easily.”

Professor Ball also drew attention to the “damaging” work of Andrew Wakefield in the 1990s which he said “helped fuel the fire of the anti-vaccine movement”.

For the mumps vaccine, we expect about 88% of people vaccinated to be protected, whereas for the measles vaccine this is as high as 98%

– Professor Jonathan Ball

Wakefield’s anti-vaccination theses, which correlated the MMR vaccine with the development of autism among young children, was prominent in the latter 1990’s and early 2000’s paralleling with the age when most current undergraduate students were advised to have been given the MMR vaccine at 12-13 months and a second at three years and four months.

While Wakefield’s research was proven to be falsified, the proportion of those vaccinated against the MMR vaccine in the UK during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s dropped to approximately 80%.

Bradley Ewles, A Second-Year Modern Languages Student at the University of Nottingham, criticised the lack of awareness provided by the University. Mr Ewles said: “I’ve heard nothing official from them [University of Nottingham] about it.

“The university health centre needs to be pushing all students to be vigilant and take extra care with hygiene and anything that can help prevent the spread of mumps.”

A report by the Royal Society for Public Health earlier this year suggested that the top reason for the refusal of vaccines was the fear of possible side effects which among parents was being fuelled by social media.

On 26 March, Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock called for new legislation to force social media companies to remove content promoting false information about vaccines.