700% rise in mumps in NI blamed on young people not getting MMR jab

The warning came after the Public Health Agency revealed there were 534 confirmed cases last year, compared to just 67 in 2018.

The vast majority (371) were in young adults, aged 15 to 34.

The Public Health Agency’s Dr Jillian Johnson said two doses of the MMR vaccine would maximise protection.

“Whilst the majority of all cases, including young adults, have received two doses of MMR vaccine (77%), the proportion of people with less than two doses (23%) is enough to continue to drive the spread of mumps every three to four years and this is what we are seeing during 2019,” she said.

The warning comes after it was revealed cases of mumps in England had reached their highest level in a decade.

Outbreaks in universities and colleges raised the number of cases of the painful viral illness to 5,042 in 2019 - four times the number in 2018.