MUMPS. 755 



ism of other observers., hence, his antiserum can 

 not be accepted unreservedly as a specific serum 

 for whooping cough. Smit found that an anti- 

 serum for the influenza-like organism exerted no 

 influence on the disease. Bordet found the serum 

 of a horse immunized to his bacillus of question- 

 able curative value. 



xni. MUMPS (EPIDEMIC PAROTITIS). 



Mumps occurs epidemically in children, particu- 

 larly in schools, in other institutions, and in sol- 

 diers confined to barracks. It is most frequent in 

 the spring and autumn and probably is endemic in 

 large centers of population. It is contagious, the 

 virus probably being disseminated from the upper 

 respiratory passages with infected droplets of spu- 

 tum and saliva. The disease has an incubation 

 period of two to three weeks and runs its course 

 in from seven to ten days. 



Involvement of the testis, ovary or female breast 

 are complications to be feared in adult life ; "orchi- 

 tis, albuminuria, with convulsions, acute uremia, 

 endocarditis and peripheral neuritis are occasional 

 complications" (Osier). Fatal meningitis devel- 

 ops rarely. Very young infants and adults are at- 

 tacked less frequently than children of school age. 



In 1893, Laveran and Catrin described a diplo- 

 coccus obtained by aspiration of the exudate in the 

 parotid gland. The organism was also isolated 

 from the testicle in orchitis cases and from the 

 circulating blood. Since that time, diplococci 

 have been isolated from cases of mumps by a num- 

 ber of observers. In 1909, Herb isolated a diplo- 

 coccus which she considers as probably identical 

 with the organisms described by previous writers. 



