BACKGROUND:   The mumps virus is frequently the causative agent in aseptic meningitis and mumps has still prevailed in Japan. We compared data obtained from patients with mumps meningitis and patients with aseptic meningitis caused by other viruses in order to identify mumps meningitis-specific cytokine/chemokine alterations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).METHODS:   We elucidated the cytokine/chemokine network based on the cytokine/chemokine profiles in CSF from children with mumps meningitis and meningitis due to other viral infections using multiplex cytokine measurement. Seventeen cytokines/chemokines, namely interleukin (IL)-1â, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12 (p70), IL-13, IL-17, interferon (IFN)-ã, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-á, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and macrophage inflammatory protein-1â (MIP-1â), were measured simultaneously in CSF supernatants from eight children with mumps meningitis, 11 children with other types of viral meningitis and eight children with fever without neurological complications such as convulsion.RESULTS:   We found that IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13 and IFN-ã showed a statistically significant increase in CSF from mumps meningitis when compared to other types of viral meningitis and fever without neurological complications.CONCLUSION:   Mumps meningitis may induce a distinct immunological response when compared with other types of viral meningitis.