Mumps-Megan+and+Bianca

=**Epidemic Parotitis (Mumps)**= By: Megan Doe and Bianca Nigro =**History/background:**= American bacteriologist, John F. Enders and his colleagues, did most of the work on growing viruses at Children's Hospital in Boston. Enders and his colleagues were able to recreate the virus that causes mumps and developed a vaccination for mumps and measles. In mid June in 2006 there were 3,200 confirmed cases of the mumps in 12 states centered in the Midwest. Mumps is historically know as a children virus because it is spread through the nose and throat. Children are more likely than adults to put their hands in their mouths and that would be a common way to contract the virus.

=**Symptoms in humans infected with the virus:**= - Swelling and pain in more or one of or both cheeks - Fever 100F to 104F - Sore throat or pain when swallowing and opening mouth - Headache - Ear ache - Pain when drinking sour liquids or eating sour foods - Muscle and joint aches - Tiredness - Vomiting or loss of appetite or even no appetite at all

=**How the virus is transmitted:**= The mumps virus can be transmitted from being in the air. The mumps virus enters your body through your nose and throat. The virus that causes mumps lives in a person's saliva, therefore It is spread by coughing, sneezing, or other direct contact between people. People infected with the mumps virus can spread the virus one to two days before any symptoms start and 5 to 9 days after the symptoms start.

=**Animals involved with transmission:**= Humans are the only known host for the mumps virus. There have been no traces of other animals carrying the virus.

=**Virus structure/Composition:**= The mumps virus has a negative-sense RNA nucleic core. The outter shell of the mumps virus is made up of HN protein, F protein, and a lipid bilayer. The inside of the cell, the nucleocapsid, is made up of N protein, Mp protein, RNA, P protein, and L protein.



=**Details about infection:**= The mumps virus infects the upper respiratory system. The virus can infect glands and cells in the throat, the mouth and they can infect cells in the eyes. After the virus finds its host cell the copying or replication happens in the cytoplasm. The virus copies itself and spreads throughout the body. When the virus is being replicated, the virus must make complete nucleocapsids that are made in order to form a protective immunity. The RNA must connect with an enzyme in order to build the protein that works as a protection to the virus.

=**How the human body fights the virus:**= When the human body is infected with the mumps virus, the immune system kicks in. The IgM anitbodies develop rapidly within three days of the infection to fight it off. = = =**How the virus changes over time:**= There have been no findings about the mumps virus changing over time. If the mump virus does change eventually, we believe that the outter shell will become more resistant to immunizations that are made to help prevent and fight against the virus. If this was to happen, there would be mostlikely be major out breaks. The virus may become more dangerous to humans than it is now. So we think that with the way that technology keeps improving, we will be able to keep the virus under contoll. =How the virus is treated by medical professionals:= There is no treatment to the mumps, all it can do is run it's course. Although medicines such as Advil, ibuprofen and Tylenol are good for making one with the virus feel more comfortable. A vaccine called "MMR" prevents the disease. It is usually given in a single dose between the ages of twelve and fifteen months, four and six years, or eleven and twelve years. It is recommended to get vaccinated before traveling in order to prevent getting the disease. Before the vaccine, more than 200,000 cases occurred each year in the United States. Since then the number of cases has dropped to fewer than 1,000 a year, and epidemics have become fairly rare. People who should not get the vaccine include:
 * pregnant women
 * anyone with an illness accompanied by a mild fever
 * people who are allergic to eggs and/or egg products
 * persons with conditions that have damaged their immune systems, such as those who are HIV-positive

=Sources:= http://children.webmd.com/tc/mumps-symptoms

http://www.faqs.org/health/Sick-V3/Mumps.html

http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1031002654.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=TDEsMa8Jp2EC&pg=PA459&lpg=PA459&dq=details+about+the+structure+of+the+mumps+cell+virus&source=bl&ots=7h13VST0o9&sig=H9dIVtbyFR822zB2RtpDoSG9diQ&hl=en&ei=PT4ESu3oCIThtgec4pGKBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#PPA461,M1