Submitted by Angie Thu 04/08/2010
Tweet Doctors have reported a surge in the numbers of teenage boys suffering mumps-related pain and swelling in their testicles, leaving them at risk of infertility. The problems have arisen because of the high number of children in the 1990s who did not receive the MMR vaccine which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. In the 1990s, there was a global shortage of the MMR vaccine and an unproven scare about its link to autism, which led to a fall-off in children getting the jab. The link to autism was later found to be false and was retracted by the ‘Lancet’ journal earlier this year after an inquiry into its author. This can happen after puberty in unvaccinated males and cause the painful swelling of the testicles. Other symptoms can involve high temperature, vomiting, headache, and a general feeling of being unwell. An estimated 50% of men who get mumps will notice some shrinkage of their testicles and 7-13% will suffer a drop in sperm count. In rare cases the condition can cause infertility. The spike in cases was reported by Dr Niall Davis, a urology research registrar in a study published in the ‘British Journal of Urology International’.
