Elementary Lesson 4 Activity 1 - Jeryl Lynn Hilleman & the Mumps Vaccine

In 1963, Dr. Hilleman’s daughter, Jeryl Lynn, came down with the mumps. By weakening the mumps virus he had obtained from swabs of her throat, he was able to make a safe and effective mumps vaccine. The same strain of mumps virus is used to make the mumps vaccine today. It is called the Jeryl Lynn strain. Prior to the vaccine, mumps was the most common cause of meningitis (swelling of the lining of the brain and spinal cord in children). It was the leading cause of acquired deafness among children in the United States. This ten part series tells the story of developing that vaccine. Illustrations by Jenn Hall for Carter County Museum.

Part 1

At 1:00 a.m. on March 23, 1963, five-year old Jeryl Lynn Hilleman woke her father complaining of a sore throat. He reached out and felt the side of her face, where he found a lump, causing Jeryl to wince.