Sciensano is responsible for the surveillance of mumps in Belgium and coordinates different surveillance networks. Sciensano is also the National Reference Centre (NRC) for mumps, measles and rubella. We focus on research of vaccine efficacy, investigate outbreaks and measure the seroprevalence in the population.
Sciensano is the reference body in Belgium with regard to the surveillance of mumps. The National Reference Centre (NRC) for mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) detects and identifies circulating mumps viruses. Within Sciensano, the teams Epidemiology of infectious diseases and Health services research follow the spread of mumps in the Belgian population.
Our team Quality of vaccines and blood products is the Belgian Official Medicines control Laboratory (OMCL) responsible for the quality control of the MMR and MMRV vaccines produced by any European vaccine manufacturer. It is one of the major members of the European OMCL network. They are responsible for the quality control assessment of each batch of vaccine for human use before it can be sold by the manufacturers on the European market.
Detection and identification
The National Reference Centre (NRC) for mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) is responsible for the diagnosis of mumps cases as well as for the characterisation of the circulating mumps viruses. General practitioners that suspect a mumps virus infection can send a nasal swab, salivary swab or a blood sample to the NRC for further investigation.
Following the spread
The team Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases contributes to the surveillance of mumps in Belgium and coordinates different surveillance networks:
- a network of sentinel laboratories that reports positive laboratory tests for mumps
- a network for surveillance of infant diseases, consisting of general practitioners and pediatricians that report mumps cases
The team also coordinates the network of National Reference Centres in Belgium. The team Health Services Research contributes to the surveillance of mumps in Belgium and coordinates a national network of Sentinel General Practitioners that reports mumps cases in general practices.
This surveillance allows us to get a clear idea of the spread of the virus in the Belgian population, which is necessary to formulate preventive measures.
Quality control
The team Quality of Vaccines and Blood Products controls the quality of each MMR and MMRV vaccine batch independently of the European producer prior to marketing in Europe. The team performs different laboratory analyses on samples, according the European product specific Official Control Authority Batch Release (OCABR) guidelines of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Healthcare (EDQM). The team also assesses the conformity of the production and controls all data submitted by the producer (approved specifications in the marketing authorisation dossier and related production consistency). The team provides a European release certificate for each compliant batch to the manufacturer.
Research
The National Reference Centre and the team Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases closely collaborate in the frame of different mumps-related research topics. They have conducted a study on mumps estimating the presence of mumps antibodies in the Belgian population. Furthermore, the National Reference Centre focuses on the research of the cause of new mumps outbreaks and on the relations with the currently used vaccine.
Latest reports on the surveillance of mumps cases in Belgium are available below.
The annual batch release report on MMR and MMRV vaccines is available at the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR).