Headlines - Clusters of Mumps Cases in Schools and Other Settings: What to Do

In France, since late March 2013, increased circulation of the mumps virus compared to previous years has resulted in several outbreaks occurring in communities of older adolescents and/or young adults. This situation is due to the existence in the general population—and particularly among young adults—of a high proportion of individuals susceptible to mumps (14%, according to the 2010 Séro-inf survey), resulting from the combination of two factors: - the accumulation over time of a reservoir of unvaccinated children due to infant vaccination coverage not exceeding 90% and incomplete catch-up vaccination of older cohorts - the protection conferred by the mumps component in the MMR vaccine being lower than that conferred by the other two antigens, with a decline in immunity over time, hence the observation of outbreaks in communities of adolescents and young adults, the majority of whom have received two doses. In this context, the High Council for Public Health recommends, in its opinion of July 11, 2013, that in situations involving clusters of mumps cases in group settings (schools, universities, boarding schools, barracks, sports clubs, etc.), in addition to updating vaccination status, a third dose of the vaccine be systematically offered to individuals who have already received two doses and whose second dose was administered more than 10 years ago. It also recommends that: - 2 to 3 cases be virologically documented via molecular diagnosis (PCR); for this purpose, the saliva kits available at Regional Health Agencies (ARS) for measles diagnosis may be used in accordance with CNR recommendations; - investigations be conducted to determine the vaccination status of all individuals within the community.