An illness with acute onset of unilateral or bilateral tender, self-limited swelling of the parotid or other salivary gland, lasting greater than or equal to 2 days, and without other apparent cause
Probable: a case that meets the clinical case definition, has noncontributory or no serologic or virologic testing, and is not epidemiologically linked to a confirmed or probable case
Confirmed: a case that is laboratory confirmed or that meets the clinical case definition and is epidemiologically linked to a confirmed or probable case. A laboratory-confirmed case does not need to meet the clinical case definition.
Two probable cases that are epidemiologically linked would be considered confirmed, even in the absence of laboratory confirmation. False-positive IgM results by immunofluorescent antibody assays have been reported (8).
8. Schluter WW, Reef SE, Dykewicz DA, Jennings CE. Pseudo-outbreak of mumps--Illinois, 1995 [Abstract]. In: Program and abstracts of the 30th National Immunization Conference, Washington, DC, April 9-12, 1996.