Central nervous system mumps A review of 64 cases

SUMMARYWe have reviewed 64 cases of documented central nervous system mumps which were referred to the Epidemiology Research Center for laboratory diagnosis between 1963 and 1968. Fifty-five were classified as mumps viral meningitis and 9 as meningoencephalitis. The average time interval between onset of parotitis and the development of CNS symptoms was 2.7 days, and mumps viral complement-fixing antibodies reached a geometric mean peak level of 1:96 between two and three weeks after onset of mumps illness. Follow-up neurological, psychometric, and audiometric performance tests on 19 patients revealed no significant differences between the patients and a group of matched controls, although one of those with meningoencephalitis had suggestive evidence of minimal brain damage.