Testicular immunology
Mumps is a viral disease which causes swelling of the salivary glands and testes. The mumps virus lives in the upper respiratory tract and spreads through direct contact with saliva. Prior to widespread vaccination programs, it was a common childhood disease. Mumps is generally not serious in children, but in adults, where sperm have matured in the testis, it can cause more severe complications, such as infertility.
Sialadenitis
Viral pathogens more commonly cause sialadenitis in comparison to bacterial pathogens. Mumps is the most common virus that affects the parotid and submandibular glands, with the parotid gland affected most often out of these two. Other viruses that have been shown to cause sialadenitis in both these glands include HIV, coxsackie and parainfluenza. Classically, HIV parotitis is either asymptomatic or a non-painful swelling, which is not characteristic of sialadenitis. Some common bacterial causes are S. Aureus, S. Pyogenus, S. Viridans and H. Influenzae.