Mumpsvax is a mumps vaccine

Mumps vaccine

Several varieties of mumps vaccine have been used since 1949, and at least 10 strains were in use in 2006:The first vaccine was a killed mumps virus vaccine developed in 1948 and used in the United States from 1950-1978. This vaccine produced little immune memory, thus had a short duration of...

 made of mumps virus

Virus

A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...

. Mumpsvax is a product of Merck & Co.

Merck & Co.

Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...

,Inc. The vaccine is a component of Merck's three-virus MMR vaccine

MMR vaccine

The MMR vaccine is an immunization shot against measles, mumps, and rubella . It was first developed by Maurice Hilleman while at Merck in the late 1960s....

.

Mumpsvax is administered by a subcutaneous injection

Subcutaneous injection

A subcutaneous injection is administered as a bolus into the subcutis, the layer of skin directly below the dermis and epidermis, collectively referred to as the...

 of live virus reconstituted from freeze-dried (lyophilized) vaccine.

The dosage of the mumps vaccine component in MMR is the same as of Mumpsvax, "Each 0.5 mL dose contains not less than 20,000 TCID₅₀ (50% Tissue Culture Infective Dose) of mumps virus." The Merck product information recommends MMR as the secondary vaccination treatment with Mumpsvax.

Mumpsvax is produced from the Jeryl Lynn strain of mumps virus developed by the late Maurice Hilleman

Maurice Hilleman

Maurice Ralph Hilleman was an American microbiologist who specialized in vaccinology and developed over three dozen vaccines, more than any other scientist...

. When his daughter Jeryl Lynn Hilleman contracted Mumps (in 1963) Dr. Hilleman cultured the vaccine strain from her throat. The mumps virus strains were developed in embryonic hens' eggs and chick embryo cell cultures. The resulting strains of virus were less well-suited for human cells, and are thus said to be attenuated. They are sometimes referred to as neuroattenuated in the sense that these strains are less virulent

Virulence

Virulence is by MeSH definition the degree of pathogenicity within a group or species of parasites as indicated by case fatality rates and/or the ability of the organism to invade the tissues of the host. The pathogenicity of an organism - its ability to cause disease - is determined by its...

 to human neuron

Neuron

A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...

s than the wild strains.

The cells used in culture, virus stocks used, and animal fluids are all screened for extraneous material as part of the vaccine production. They are grown in Medium 199 (a solution containing buffered salt, vitamins, amino acids, fetal bovine serum) with SPGA(sucrose, phosphate, glutamate, human serum albumin

Human serum albumin

Human serum albumin is the most abundant protein in human blood plasma. It is produced in the liver. Albumin constitutes about half of the blood serum protein...

) and neomycin

Neomycin

Neomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that is found in many topical medications such as creams, ointments, and eyedrops. The discovery of Neomycin dates back to 1949. It was discovered in the lab of Selman Waksman, who was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and medicine in 1951...

. The human albumin processing uses the Cohn cold ethanol fractionation method.

National Drug Code

National Drug Code

The National Drug Code is a unique product identifier used in the United States for drugs intended for human use. The Drug Listing Act of 1972 requires registered drug establishments to provide the Food and Drug Administration with a current list of all drugs manufactured, prepared, propagated,...

s for Mumpsvax are:

NDC 0006-4753-00	A single-dose vial of lyophilized vaccine with a vial of diluent Diluent A diluent is a diluting agent.Certain fluids are too viscous to be pumped easily or too dense to flow from one particular point to the other. This can be problematic, because it might not be economically feasible to transport such fluids in this state.To ease this restricted movement, diluents... .
NDC 0006-4584-00	A box of 10 single-dose vials of lyophylized vaccine with a box of 10 vials of diluent.