COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE being urged to get the MMR vaccine as twice as many cases of the mumps have been recorded this year.
Over 400 people have contracted the airborne disease, up from 184 in all of 2013, and the HSE wants people to get the MMR.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, public health expert Dr Suzanne Cotter of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre said the disease comes in waves that can be tackled with vaccination.
She said that the 2009 outbreak had seen the HSE put a vaccination “catch-up” programme in place.
Most cases are in the 17-20 age group, she said.
Mumps is a viral illness that is spread by close contact with an infected person and causes fever and swollen glands under the jaw.
It can also cause meningitis, deafness and inflammation of the pancreas or testicles.
Vaccination is the only way of protecting against the disease.
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