Mumps Outbreak at a University and Recommendation for a Third Dose of Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine - Illinois, 2015-2016.

Mumps is an acute viral disease characterized by fever and swelling of the parotid or other salivary glands. On May 1, 2015, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) confirmed a mumps outbreak at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. IDPH and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (C-UPHD) conducted an investigation and identified 317 cases of mumps during April 2015-May 2016. Because of sustained transmission in a population with high 2-dose coverage with measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, a third MMR dose was recommended by IDPH, C-UPHD, and the university's McKinley Health Center. No formal recommendation for or against the use of a third MMR dose has been issued by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) (1). However, CDC has provided guidelines for use of a third dose as a control measure during mumps outbreaks in settings in which persons are in close contact with one another, where transmission is sustained despite high 2-dose MMR coverage, and when traditional control measures fail to slow transmission (2).