Mumps Important information for students
Posted 129 Months Ago
To Edinburgh Campus students
There has been an increase in recent weeks in the number of students at Heriot-Watt University who have been diagnosed with mumps.
Mumps is an acute viral illness. The infection can be easily spread from person to person by direct contact with saliva or droplets of saliva (e.g. via coughs and sneezes) from an infected individual. The signs, symptoms and complications of mumps include:
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Signs and Symptoms: Fever Headache Swelling of salivary glands on one or both sides of the face |
Complications (infrequent): Meningitis Deafness Swelling of testes or ovaries Inflammation of the pancreas |
If you think you may have contracted mumps then you should not attend University or work and advice should be sought from your GP.
Mumps can be prevented by immunisation with the MMR vaccine; 2 doses of the vaccine are required for protection against measles, mumps and rubella. If you have not received two doses of MMR then the course can be finished at any time so please make an appointment at your practice to receive the vaccine.
More information
Further general information about mumps is at:http://www.nhsinform.co.uk/health-library/articles/m/mumps/introduction
About the MMR vaccine is at http://www.immunisationscotland.org.uk/vaccines-and-diseases/mmr.aspx
Also visit the Mumps factsheet
