Mumps Outbreak in Midwest Could Have Been Worse

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To protect people from future outbreaks and reach the 2010 goal, Parker thinks changes in the vaccine to make it more effective or booster shots to preserve immunity should be considered.

One expert thinks the having children vaccinated against mumps is the best way to prevent future outbreaks.

"Since the mumps vaccine was introduced in 1967, there was a dramatic decline in the incidence of mumps not only in our country but in many other countries," said Dr. Paul A. Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Offit agrees that the high rate of vaccination kept the outbreak small, and he doesn't expect to see a similar outbreak anytime soon. But he recommends that children get the full two doses of the MMR vaccine.

However, Offit doesn't think the 2006 outbreak is reason enough to change the current two-shot vaccine policy. "It's been two years since the outbreak, and there hasn't been a similar outbreak. So, I don't think any changes in vaccine policy need to be made at this time, because it will be based on a single outbreak," he said.

But not getting vaccinated at all is taking a risk, Offit said. "The choice not to get vaccinated is not a risk-free choice. It's just a choice to take a different risk," he said. "I think the choice not to get a vaccine for a child is a bad one. Mumps is not a benign disease."

While mumps in children is usually mild, complications can include loss of hearing, meningitis and encephalitis, which can be fatal. In adult men, mumps can result in sterility.

More information

For more on mumps, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.