ARCHIVED - Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Mumps Outbreaks in Canada

2.0 Objectives

These guidelines are based on national and international expertise, outbreak experiences, and best practice. At the request of CIC and the CCMOH, they were prepared primarily to assist Canadian public health authorities in their investigation and management of mumps outbreaks. They are intended to provide consistent case and contact definitions and, consequently, to improve reporting and surveillance information that will guide future outbreak management.

Depending on the epidemiology of an outbreak (e.g., age groups and settings affected), public health authorities may need to adapt the guidelines and key recommendations to accommodate their local public health protocol and response.

These outbreak guidelines address the following:

• case and contact definitions;
• reporting and surveillance;
• laboratory diagnosis of mumps;
• public health response to cases and contacts;
• outbreak control in community and health care settings;
• immunization; and
• communication strategies.