Acute pancreatitis and haemolytic anaemia associated with mumps-virus infection.

Because of its various manifestations mumps is now considered to be a generalized infection characterized principally by involvement of the parotid and submaxillary glands. Among the complications of mumps-virus infection are meningoencephalitis, gastro-enteritis, orchitis, mastitis, pancreatitis, and subacute thyroiditis. Sometimes one of these disorders constitutes the only manifestation of infection. Inapparent infection with mumps virus may be more common than is supposed (Henle et al., 1948; Monthly Bulletin of the Ministry of Health and the Public Health Laboratory Service, 1964), though second attacks of parotitis are uncommon (Wilson and Miles, 1964). The following case of acute pancreatitis complicated by haemolytic anaemia is presented, and it is suggested from the results of serological tests that these disorders were caused by infection with mumps virus.