Library · Microorganism
Mumps virus
Make it clearer
Mumps is caused by one specific virus: a paramyxovirus whose genetic material is single-stranded RNA. And it has a peculiarity: its only known natural host is us, human beings, and it does not complete its cycle in any other species.
On the outside it is wrapped in a lipid bilayer, a double layer of fat. Embedded in it are two tools: neuraminidase and fusion proteins. With them it grabs onto the cell and manages to get inside.
Its route through the body explains why mumps is not just a swollen cheek. It first multiplies in the epithelium of the upper airway, the nose and the throat. Then it passes into the blood, which is called viremia, and from there it inflames the salivary glands, and it can also reach the testicles, ovaries, pancreas, and central nervous system. The blood is its highway: it enters through the airway and turns up in glands far apart from one another.
In brief
The mumps virus is a single-stranded RNA paramyxovirus, and humans are its only natural host.
Within its lipid bilayer it carries neuraminidase and fusion proteins, which let it attach to a cell and enter it.
It replicates first in the upper airway epithelium and, after viremia, inflames the salivary glands, testicles, ovaries, pancreas, and central nervous system.
The blood is its highway: it enters through the airway and turns up in glands far apart from one another.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingMumps, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated