Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions
Understanding the Resurgence of Mumps
Open Forum Infect Dis; 2017 Oct 4; Lewnard, et al
After many years of seeing the incidence of mumps decline, the United States is now seeing a resurgence of cases; a recent analysis concludes that this may warrant booster doses of the mumps vaccine in adulthood. Among the details:
- It is estimated that the protection afforded by the mumps vaccine lasts about 29 years on average.
- The loss of vaccine effectiveness over time accounts for more than 66% of the unexplained variation in effectiveness of mumps vaccination in published studies.
- The changes in age-related susceptibility that have resulted from vaccine waning and the drop in transmission are consistent with the resurgence now being observed in young US adults.
- It also explains outbreaks in teens who have been vaccinated during the late 1980s.
Citation:
Lewnard J, Grad YH. Vaccine waning and mumps re-emergence in the USA. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2017;4(Suppl 1):S25. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofx162.063.