Which strain provided the basis for the first licensed mumps vaccine in 1967?

The Jeryl Lynn strain provided the basis for the first licensed mumps vaccine in 1967.

The strain was isolated in 1963 from Jeryl Lynn Hilleman, the daughter of microbiologist Maurice Hilleman, after she developed mumps. Hilleman weakened the virus through laboratory passage, creating a live attenuated strain suitable for vaccination. Merck’s mumps vaccine based on the strain was licensed in the United States in 1967.

The vaccine later became part of the combined measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, commonly known as MMR. It remains the mumps component used in many routine immunisation programmes worldwide.

A common mix-up is confusing the Jeryl Lynn strain with the Oka strain, which is associated with varicella vaccination, or the Edmonston strain, which is associated with measles vaccines. Mumps vaccination greatly reduced disease, although outbreaks can still occur in closely connected communities.