Epidemiology of mumps outbreaks and the impact of an additional dose of MMR vaccine for outbreak control in regional Queensland, Australia, 2017-2018

Jacina Walker; Odewumi Adegbija; Nicolas Smoll; Arifuzzaman Khan; Jordan Whicker; Heidi Carroll; Rachael Rodney Harris; Gulam Khandaker

doi:10.33321/cdi.2021.45.67

Epidemiology of mumps outbreaks and the impact of an additional dose of MMR vaccine for outbreak control in regional Queensland, Australia, 2017-2018

Commun Dis Intell (2018). 2021 Dec 21:45. doi: 10.33321/cdi.2021.45.67.

Authors

Jacina Walker^{1

2}, Odewumi Adegbija¹, Nicolas Smoll¹, Arifuzzaman Khan¹, Jordan Whicker³, Heidi Carroll⁴, Rachael Rodney Harris², Gulam Khandaker^{5

6

1}

Affiliations

¹ Central Queensland Public Health Unit, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Rockhampton, Australia.
² National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
³ Woorabinda Multi-Purpose Health Service, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Woorabinda, Australia.
⁴ Communicable Disease Branch, Queensland Health, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁵ Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia.
⁶ The Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School, The faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

PMID: 34932933
DOI: 10.33321/cdi.2021.45.67

Abstract

Background: In recent years, there have been ongoing outbreaks of mumps reported in Northern and North-Western Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Australia. We aimed to define the epidemiology of mumps outbreaks in Central Queensland, Australia between October 2017 and October 2018 and evaluate the effectiveness of an additional dose of measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Methods: A retrospective case control study was conducted, including outbreak investigations with laboratory-confirmed cases of mumps and subsequent comparison with matched controls. We analysed mandatory notifications from the Queensland Health Notifiable Conditions System database and immunisation information from the Queensland Health Vaccination Information and Admin System (VIVAS) and the Australian Immunisation Register.

Results: Between October 2017 and October 2018, there were 93 cases of mumps reported in Central Queensland with three distinct outbreaks: a discrete Indigenous community; a correctional facility; and a boarding school. Among all cases, 74 (79.6%) were fully vaccinated and 14 (15.1%) were partially vaccinated with MMR vaccine. Eighty-six cases (92.5%) were reported among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In all outbreaks, an additional dose of MMR vaccine was offered with 35.4%, 73.6% and 35.8% of the target population being immunised in the discrete Indigenous community, the correctional facility and the boarding school, respectively. Prior to this additional dose of MMR, the mumps attack rate was 31.0 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 24.2-39.0) per 1000 population, compared to the post-additional dose MMR attack rate of 10.6 (95% CI: 6.7-15.9) per 1000 population.

Conclusion: An additional or booster dose of MMR should be included as an effective public health intervention strategy, particularly in communal or high-density living conditions to control mumps outbreaks in highly vaccinated populations.

Keywords: Additional dose; Boarding school; Indigenous; Infection control; MMR; Mumps; Outbreak; Prison; Queensland, Vaccination.

MeSH terms

Case-Control Studies
Disease Outbreaks / prevention & control
Humans
Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine
Mumps* / epidemiology
Mumps* / prevention & control
Northern Territory
Queensland / epidemiology
Retrospective Studies

Substances

Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine