The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7336 p170
12 February 2005

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Mumps cases rise in England and Wales

Nearly 5,000 cases of mumps were notified to the Health Protection Agency for the first four weeks of 2005, compared with 358 during the same period in 2004. Confirmed figures have risen from 96 cases in 1996 to 1,529 in 2003. The provisional figure for 2004 indicates that 7,625 cases notified to the HPA were confirmed as genuine following laboratory testing.

“The increased occurrence of the disease is mainly among older teenagers and young adults in their early twenties,” explained Mary Ramsay, who monitors cases of mumps for the agency. The HPA and the Department of Health advise young adults who have not received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or only received one dose, to take up the offer of MMR vaccination.

Miriam Armstrong, chief executive of PharmacyHealthLink, said: “Pharmacists are in an ideal position to approach this hard-to-reach group and encourage them to take up the MMR vaccination, while also continuing to promote the vaccine to families with young children.