LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan is getting an unwanted throwback to the pre- vaccine era, with at least 11 confirmed or probable cases of mumps reported in 2025 so far.
While the state confirmed 11 cases, the Michigan Disease Surveillance System (MDSS) has logged 16 suspected, probable, or confirmed cases across Detroit and 10 counties, including Oakland, Wayne, Genesee, Washtenaw, Kent, Houghton, Huron, Ionia, Tuscola, and even up in Cheboygan. The state’s health department is calling the cases “sporadic.”
Not-so-fun facts – swollen jaws, missed shots.
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Mumps is a viral infection that targets the salivary glands and spreads through direct contact with saliva or via respiratory droplets. No deaths have been reported for those who have contracted mumps. But if you’ve never had your salivary glands balloon to the size of jawbreakers, count yourself lucky. Mumps can also cause some gnarly complications including brain swelling, infertility, and hearing loss.
Why now? Michigan’s MMR vaccination rates are slumping – only 80.4% of toddlers had at least one dose as of December 2024. That’s well below the 93.4% national average.
Measles sneaks backstage too.
Oakland County, fresh off its first measles case in years, also reported a mumps case in March. It was the first confirmed case in Michigan for the year and the first since July 2024. That’s two for two for diseases that most people thought were relics of the past. Kent County, Macomb and Montcalm have also seen cases of measles this year.
And while the CDC says 67 mumps cases are scattered across 23 states this year, Michigan is punching above its weight in infections.
So what now?
There’s no treatment for mumps, which means prevention is the name of the game. That means two MMR vaccine doses – which is used to vaccinate against mumps, measles and rubella. Treating both measles and mumps involves supportive measures to relieve symptoms, such as rest, hydration, and reducing fever and cough.
With cases possibly underreported and testing accuracy up for debate, Michigan’s current mumps map is fuzzy – but what’s clear is vaccination rates need a comeback tour of their own.
