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During the past decade, several mumps outbreaks have occurred among young adults with histories of full mumps vaccination, indicating that immunity conveyed by this live virus vaccine is shorter-lived than previously believed. But does vaccination confer any advantage in limiting contagion during an outbreak? The issue of whether vaccinated, asymptomatic people shed the virus has not been definitively answered.
In February 2017, a suspected case of mumps on the University of Washington (UW) campus was reported to county public health authorities. By July 2017, 42 cases of laboratory-confirmed (16) or probable (26) mumps had been reported among UW students (many who were members of fraternities or sororities) and others. All patients had rece…