Unvaccinated Boys at Risk of Mumps-Linked Testicular Problem

April 3, 2010

Testicles can swell or atrophy as a result, researchers say

FRIDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- A new study reports a significant increase

in the number of young males with a mumps-related testicle condition called

mumps orchitis, which causes one or both testicles to swell and can lead to

fertility problems.

The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine should be offered to all unvaccinated

males aged 15-24, and they should be educated about mumps orchitis, said Irish

urologists who reviewed five decades worth of research and statistics.

After the MMR vaccine was introduced in 1968, the number of cases of mumps

orchitis decreased dramatically worldwide. But vaccination rates started to

decline about 15 years ago because of a global shortage of the MMR vaccine and

media reports that it was linked to autism, inflammatory bowel disease and

Crohn's disease.

Even though subsequent research found no such links, there's still widespread

public concern about the MMR vaccine.

" Boys that did not receive the [MMR vaccine] during the mid-1990s are now

collecting in large numbers in secondary schools and colleges, and this provides

a perfect breeding ground for the [mumps] virus, " Niall , a urology

research registrar, said in a news release. " It's estimated that as many as 40

percent of males who develop mumps after puberty can suffer from orchitis. This

is of considerable concern as epidemics of mumps orchitis are now being reported

more frequently in countries worldwide. "

In their review, and colleagues found that:

Up to 50 percent of mumps orchitis patients experience testicular atrophy, a

reduction in the size of one or both testicles.

Infertility is rare, but reduced fertility occurs in about 13 percent of

patients.

Three years after recovery, 24 percent of adults and 38 percent of adolescents

can still have abnormal sperm counts.

The association between mumps orchitis and testicular cancer is weak, with an

incidence rate of 0.5 percent.

The paper appears in the April issue of the urology journal BJUI.

Recommended Posts