Can mumps cause infertility in a man?
Mumps, which is an acute viral illness usually occurring in childhood and early adolescence, primarily causes inflammation and swelling of the salivary glands. However, in young men, mumps can also cause inflammation and swelling in one or both testes. This condition is called orchitis and it develops in approximately 25 percent of all mumps cases in males. Orchitis (in young or adult male) usually affects one testis, making it tender and painful for about two to four days, and potentially resulting in shrinkage of the affected testis to smaller than normal size. In extremely rare cases, orchitis can lead to sterility, as the damage to the testes through inflammation can cause defective sperm. As this is a concern for you, you may want to undergo a semen analysis to determine the number, shape, and degree of motility (ability to move around) of your sperm. A general medical provider should be able to perform this analysis for you, and if there did appear to be a fertility problem, you
