STUDENTS at University College Worcester are being urged to get inoculated with the MMR jab after the number of mumps cases in the county has tripled so far this year.

The Health Protection Agency in Worcestershire has been working with UCW chiefs, sending out hundreds of letters to all freshers, encouraging them to have the MMR vaccination.

The news comes as the agency has revealed that Worcestershire has seen an increase in cases of mumps in the last year, mainly among the university student age group.

In 2003 there were 22 cases of mumps in the county, that figure has tripled to 66 cases so far this year - most of which (49) occurred between January and June and the rest (17) between July and October, say officials.

"The affected students have attended universities all over England and there hasn't actually been an outbreak centred on UCW; our aim in encouraging vaccination was to stop this happening," said Dr Alan Tweddell, Worcestershire's specialist in communicable diseases.

Many youngsters of university age are susceptible to mumps because they were too old to be vaccinated when the triple MMR jab - which inoculates against measles, mumps and rubella - was first introduced in 1988.

Others had only one dose of the combined vaccination, which provides 90 to 95 per cent protection against the illnesses. The two-dose jab was not introduced until 1996.

UCW sent out a letter to students at the end of August advising them to see their GPs and have the vaccine, unless they had already had a full course of two doses.

Another letter will also be sent to new students who are enrolling in January 2005.

Dr Tweddell added: "If somebody thinks they have mumps, they should consult their GP.

"The illness starts with a fever, poor appetite, and headaches.

"After a few days, one of the saliva glands at the side of the jaw becomes painful and then swollen.

"In about three quarters of cases, the gland on the other side also swells up."

While rarely fatal, mumps is a viral illness and can occasionally cause meningitis, swelling of the sex glands and deafness.

There is no licensed single antigen mumps vaccine in the UK.