Myositis Associated with Mump

Mumps, an acute viral illness, is caused by a paramyxovirus and typically presents as parotitis. Infective myositis is a self-limiting condition in children caused by recent viral infections, particularly influenza viruses.

A report describes cases of thirteen children with an average age of 8 years who presented with parotitis and leg pain. Seven of them also had bilateral parotid swelling. 

serum mumps IgM confirmed mumps in 5 cases while the remaining eight were classified as probable mumps. The clinical signs and elevated muscle enzyme on an average fourth day of illness directed the diagnosis of Myositis. Yet, electromyography was not requested. The patients did not have any other complications from mumps and received symptomatic treatment with hydration, which caused complete recovery with normalization of CPK levels within ten days. None of these children were vaccinated against mumps.

This small case series observes a temporal association between myositis and mumps. However, further studies should find a definitive link between the virus and myositis.

Kamble N, Kumar VS, Rangaswamy DR. et al. Acute Myositis Temporally Associated with Mumps. Indian J Pediatr. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-024-05122-0