Ottawa Public Health is urging young adults to get revaccinated for mumps at one of 15 clinics being held on school campuses and other locations across the city.
The free clinics are targeting people born between 1970 and 1995 who only received one dose of the MMR (Measles/Mumps/Rubella) vaccine as children and are still susceptible to the highly contagious virus.
“It was only recently discovered that the effectiveness of the vaccine declines without a second booster shot” said Kyla Cullain, the Ottawa Public Health nurse administering the clinics.
Last year, there were 800 cases of the mumps nationwide, many of which occurred at post-secondary institutions, she said.
Students are at high risk of contracting the virus due to close living quarters on campus, but also because they’re largely uninformed of their risk, said Cullain.
Mumps can be spread person-to-person through coughing, sneezing, kissing or sharing drinks. It also survives on some surfaces.
Common symptoms include fever, headaches, fatigue, muscle aches and swelling or pain in the salivary glands.
Although rarely fatal, complications of the mumps include infections of the brain, ovaries, breasts, pancreas and testicles. It’s also been known to cause miscarriages, infertility and deafness in severe cases.
“There’s no cure for mumps, so the best protection is prevention,” said Cullain. “People at risk should check their immunization records and get vaccinated immediately.”
The free clinics will be held at locations across Ottawa from January to March and can be accessed without a health card.
A catch-up clinic will be held in Centretown on Feb. 23, from 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Ottawa City Hall.
For more information, as well as the free clinic schedule and locations: www.ottawa.ca/residents/health/conditions/id_prevention/clinics/mumps_are_back_en.html
Also see for more information: www.ontario.ca/mumps/