Tamil Nadu seeks to add mumps vaccine in UIP

Image used for representation. |Image source: Reuters

Tamil Nadu, which currently has at least 150 mumps cases in a month, had earlier this year requested the Government of India (GoI) to consider including the mumps vaccine in the Universal Immunization Program (UIP).

In a letter to the Union Health Ministry, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has requested the Indian government to inform on the possibility of providing measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in routine immunization to control all three diseases in the state . The request was necessitated after mumps cases were reported in various health unit districts in the state as early as February this year.

Under the UIP in Tamil Nadu, 11 vaccines are provided to children and pregnant women against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases – tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae, tetanus, polio , measles, rubella, rotavirus, pneumococcus and Japanese encephalitis (in 14 selected endemic areas). Each year, approximately 1 million pregnant women and 915,000 children/infants in the state are covered by UIP. Measles German measles (MR) vaccine has been included in the UIP since April 2017.

“About 150 to 200 cases of mumps are reported across the state in a month. In terms of numbers, it is not a significant number considering the population of our state. However, given the higher contagiousness, it may form a cluster of infections ,” said Director of Public Health TS Selvavinayagam.

In fact, in one article – Epidemiology of mumps cases reported in Tamil Nadu from April 2021 to March 2024 – Published in the Tamil Nadu Journal of Public Health and Medical Research, the authors noted that the number of mumps cases has increased steadily over the years, with a sharp increase in 2024, indicating that it could be classified as a notifiable disease in the state to improve surveillance and control measure. While there were 61 cases during 2021-22 and 129 cases during 2022-23, the cases surged to 1,091 during 2023-24. Chennai has reported the highest proportion at 27%, with several health unit districts reporting between 3% and 10% of the total cases in 2023-24.

Nearly 40% of cases occurred in the age group of 6 to 9 years, followed by children under 5 years at 33%. In fact, more than half of the total reported cases are among women. The study recommends adding a mumps component to the UIP schedule as per GoI procedures.

Dr. Selvavinayagam said that in children, mumps is mostly self-limiting without any complications, but when it occurs in adults, there is a possibility of testicularitis, which can lead to infertility. “Given the growing evidence that changes in age groups lead to complications, it is recommended that mumps be included in UIP. This is a major policy decision to be taken at the government level in India as it needs to be implemented pan-India, and involves huge expenditures and vaccine production capacity.

Doctors said MMR vaccine can be administered in private hospitals. They say it’s important to include the mumps vaccine in UIP because it can lead to complications such as testicularitis and encephalitis.