Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the increase in cases of mumps.

The United Kingdom Measles and Rubella Elimination Strategy, published in 2019, focuses on four components required to maintain elimination. These are to: achieve and sustain at least 95% coverage with two doses of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in the routine childhood programme; achieve at least 95% coverage with two doses of MMR vaccine in older age cohorts through opportunistic and targeted catch-up; strengthen measles and rubella surveillance through rigorous case investigation and testing at least 80% of all suspected cases with an Oral Fluid Test; and ensure easy access to high-quality, evidence-based information for health professionals and the public. This will improve mumps control and reduce outbreaks occurring.

The epidemiology of mumps in the UK has been impacted in several ways during the COVID-19 pandemic. The closures and public health measures in place in educational settings since March 2020 has led to the interruption of transmission of mumps and very few cases being reported. In England, there were two laboratory confirmed mumps infections between April and June 2021.