Mumps Still A Thing In Iceland

People still get the mumps in Iceland, despite the existence of a vaccine, at rates that might be higher than the US.

A new statement from the Directorate of Health states that 47 people in Iceland have been diagnosed with the mumps so far this year. The majority of them (64%) were men between the ages of 20 and 35.

The rate of infection is not, however, due entirely to avoiding the vaccine. In fact, ten of those diagnosed had received the vaccine. The Directorate states that the mumps vaccine has been less effective than the measles vaccine, so the fact that some people caught it despite inoculation is not entirely surprising.

As a point of interest, about 1,100 Americans were diagnosed with the mumps in 2014, or about 1 in 290,000 people. The 47 people diagnosed in Iceland so far this year, by contrast, represent 1 in 6,872.

Despite the slim chance that you could still get the mumps after vaccination, the Directorate considers it “the only realistic option” for preventing catching the disease.