| 4 weeks 4 days 6 hours ago Study: Resurgence in mumps
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(NECN/ABC) - The mumps vaccine may need adjusting -- according to researchers.
In the 1990s, the mumps vaccine was looking so successful that experts predicted the disease could be wiped out in the United States by 2010.
But recently, mumps has enjoyed a resurgence in the U.S. -- more than 6500 cases were reported in 2006, making it the largest outbreak in more than two decades.
Scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated these mumps cases and found that most of them were in people who had been vaccinated.
College students appeared especially vulnerable during the outbreaks, despite the fact that they had received two doses of the vaccine as children.
Immunity from the vaccine appears to wear off over time in some patients.
Experts say that children should still continue to get the current vaccine -- it protects the vast majority of people from getting sick.
But, they suggest that the mumps vaccine may need a tune-up -- either to find a more effective formula, or to have people receive an extra dose as young adults.
ABC's Dr. Timothy Johnson has the latest in this Medical Minute.
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