Two Harvard students have been confirmed to have mumps virus. Mumps is a viral disease that spreads from an already infected person to others in a number of ways. The illness causes swelling of the parotid or salivary glands along the face, neck and jaw. Most of the Americans are vaccinated against mumps during childhood. Two doses are enough for protection. However, it is believed that vaccinated people could also contract the disease.

The general characteristics indicating onset of the illness are swelling around the neck and jaw, include fever, malaise (tiredness), muscle aches and headache, while 25% of mump infected people have no or fewer symptoms.

The most common symptom, swelling lasts for two to ten days, whereas incubation period is 12-25 days. Most people recover early from mumps in a few weeks, if otherwise, the problem can become serious enough to cause loss of hearing, swelling of the brain and swelling and soreness in the breasts of women and in men's testicles.

Besides students at Harvard, three students at University of Kentucky were diagnosed with mumps last month and others displayed symptoms including swollen salivary glands. There are other campuses that joined pool of infected campuses. Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, has reported eight cases of mumps. To deal with the same, Indiana University has provided free MMR vaccines to faculty, staff and students.

The common cause for the infection to spread is environmental. Mumps spread via droplets of saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose or throat of an infected person. Saliva passes from one person to another on sharing straws, spoons, folks, cups, cans, bottles and even lip gloss. Coughing by infected person can also spread the infection. If non-infected person inhales respiratory droplets that contain virus then infection is likely to attack.