Color enhanced transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of the virus that causes mumps. A childhood illness, the acute symptoms of mumps include a severe and painful swelling of the salivary glands under the jaw bone. Mumps is spread from person to person through direct contact with saliva and secretions from the respiratory tract. Mumps is vaccine-preventable. The mumps vaccine is administered as part of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine series to children beginning at 12 to 15 months of age. Magnification = 25,000x at 35mm