Mumps

Mumps is a contagious viral illness that spreads primarily person-to-person through contact with the saliva or respiratory droplets of an infected person. Symptoms may include facial swelling on one or both sides of the face (known as parotitis), fever and headache. Mumps is an endemic disease in Canada and outbreaks continue to occur in Ontario and across Canada.

Mumps can be prevented by vaccination. Children in Ontario receive two doses of mumps-containing vaccine before the age of 7 years. More information on Ontario’s mumps vaccine coverage among children and vaccine safety data are presented in PHO’s Immunization Data Tool.

An increase in mumps activity was observed in Ontario in 2024, which was predominantly driven by an outbreak involving a few public health units. For information on the epidemiology of mumps in Ontario in 2024, refer to the surveillance report Mumps in Ontario: January 1 to December 31, 2024.

For information on historical mumps data, please refer to the Infectious Disease Trends in Ontario or the surveillance report on Diseases of Public Health Significance Cases.

To obtain or inquire about an immunization record, or for general immunization information, please contact your local public health unit.