On Dec. 28, 1967, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Mercks mumps virus vaccine live (MumpsVax). The vaccine was developed by Maurice Hilleman who isolated a wild type virus from his daughter, Jeryl Lynn, who was recovering from mumps. It became known as the Jeryl Lynn strain of mumps virus.

The characteristic calling card of mumps, a swollen jaw and cheeks. Most people who contract the disease recover fully from the fever, swelling, and aches that usually attend it, while some infected people never experience these symptoms.

The complications of mumps include: inflammation of the testicles, ovaries, brain, and the tissue around the brain and spinal cord, as well as deafness. Adults are often subject to more serious complications than are children. However, before a vaccine was available in the U.S., mumps was a significant cause of acquired deafness in childhood.