New statistics from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show 64 new cases of mumps were reported last week, bringing the total for this year up to 381.
That's over six times more than the same time period in 2018, where there were just 59 cases of the disease were diagnosed.
As a result, there have been renewed calls for a mandatory MMR scheme to be rolled-out by the State for school-going children.
Just over 60% of cases were in the 15 to 24 age bracket, which means they were born around the time that there was discredited research from a British doctor where he claimed there was a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
Councillor Éilis Ryan from the Worker's Party says we are paying for those mistakes now:
"There has been a clear spike in mumps amongst teenagers born in the period when bogus research linking MMR to autism was published."
"It is essential that the state launch an immediate programme to ensure all school-going children have received the MMR vaccination."
"This is a longstanding, well-proven vaccination which has protected generations from potentially deadly diseases. It is not right that a disproven study from decades ago continues to put our population at risk."
115 of the cases so far this year were in the Eastern region, while just nine diagnoses were confirmed in the South East area.
