Mumps

Mumps is a contagious viral illness. It can cause fever, swelling of the salivary glands (called parotitis) and inflammation in other parts of your body.

Mumps is now rare in Australia, thanks to the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The MMR vaccine is part of the National Immunisation Program Schedule (Opens in new tab).

Anyone can catch mumps if they are not immune — if they have not been vaccinated and have not previously had mumps.

This page focuses on advice for adults and children over 5 years of age. The Pregnancy, Birth and Baby website has information about:

• mumps during pregnancy (Opens in new tab)
• mumps in babies and younger children (Opens in new tab)

Symptoms of mumps develop about 2 to 3 weeks after having contact with an infected person.

Mumps often starts as a flu-like illness, with symptoms such as:

• fever
• headache
• tiredness
• body aches
• poor appetite

The classic sign of mumps is swelling on one or both sides of your face. This is caused by swollen salivary glands (parotitis). Swelling on both sides of the face happens in most people with mumps.

Adult males may also get orchitis (inflammation of the testicles). 

Around 1 in 3 people with mumps have no symptoms.

Mumps is caused by a type of virus called an RNA paramyxovirus.

Mumps is a contagious disease. This means that it spreads from one person to another easily.

How is mumps spread?

Mumps spreads when you breathe in air with the mumps virus. This can happen when an infected person coughs or sneezes near you. You can also catch mumps by direct contact with an infected person's saliva.

You are contagious with mumps even before the facial swelling starts. You will continue to be contagious until 9 days after the start of any facial swelling.

Ask your doctor if you are not sure when you or your child can safely return to work or school.

See your doctor if you or your child has symptoms of mumps.

Do not go to the clinic, as you could infect people in the waiting room. Rather, call your doctor and they will let you know the safest way to see them. Ask your doctor about the possibility of a telehealth appointment.

If you have mumps and develop new symptoms, or your symptoms get worse, speak to your doctor.

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and examine you. They may also ask you:

• whether you have had contact with anyone who has mumps
• your vaccination history

If your doctor thinks that you have mumps, they may refer you for a:

• blood test
• urine test
• throat swab

These tests can confirm the diagnosis.

Notification

Mumps is a notifiable condition. This means that your doctor needs to tell local health authorities that you have mumps. They will take steps to prevent or control an outbreak. This may involve a process called contact tracing. Contact tracers will speak with you to identify anyone who has had close contact with you recently.

It is important for local health authorities to know about cases of mumps so they can control any outbreaks.

There is no specific treatment for mumps. Instead, treatment focuses on symptom relief and preventing spread.

Self-care at home

You can try these ways to relieve your symptoms at home:

• Get plenty of rest.
• Drink lots of fluids.
• Use a warm or cool compress to relieve facial pain and swelling.
• Eat foods that don't need a lot of chewing, such as soup or scrambled eggs

Most people with mumps recover on their own without medical treatment. If your symptoms don't improve after 7 days, or suddenly get worse, see your doctor for advice.

If you have mumps, it is important to stay home from childcare, school or work.

Medicines for mumps

Antibiotics are not used to treat mumps because mumps is caused by a virus. There is no antiviral medicine for mumps.

You can use over-the-counter medicines such as paracetamol or ibuprofen to help with pain and fever. 

Sometimes, mumps causes complications that can be serious and have lasting effects on your health. Mumps can lead to:

• encephalitis or meningitis — inflammation of the brain or its lining
• long-term hearing loss
• orchitis (inflammation of the testicles), which can lead to infertility

Catching mumps during early pregnancy (Opens in new tab) can increase the chance of a miscarriage (Opens in new tab).

In rare cases, mumps can also cause inflammation in your:

• heart (called myocarditis)
• pancreas (called pancreatitis)
• ovaries (called oophoritis)
• kidneys (called glomerulonephritis)

Vaccination is the best way to prevent mumps. 

Vaccination for mumps is only effective if you get it before you have contact with an infected person.

There are 2 mumps vaccines available in Australia. These protect you against:

• measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
• measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMR-V)

Your doctor can advise which vaccine is right for you.

About the mumps vaccine

For more information about immunisation, visit the Australian Government's Immunisation website (Opens in new tab).

The Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation website (Opens in new tab) has videos and other tools to help you make decisions about vaccination.

Languages other than English

Find information about mumps vaccination (Opens in new tab) in many community languages.

Information for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples

Visit Vaccination for Our Mob (Opens in new tab) for information about mumps for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.