Rubulavirus
If not vaccinated against mumps, susceptible individuals catch the disease by breathing around an infected person who has coughed or sneezed, releasing their contaminated saliva. Those who have had mumps are usually immune to future infections of the disease. Children have the highest risk of catching mumps, and it is rare for an adult to contract mumps. The incubation period for mumps can range from a couple weeks to a month, while the illness period is a few weeks. The swelling of the salivary glands is caused when the virus travels from the respiratory tract to the salivary glands and multiplies within the glands, causing the glands to swell.
Mumps outbreaks in the 21st century
As of March 17, 2017, there have been 43 confirmed cases in the city of Toronto with the highest rates in the west end. Most cases have occurred in people in their late teens to mid-thirties, and the hike in cases has been linked to patrons of bars in the city’s west end.