About 10,000 students are being offered immunisation

Six students and staff at the University of Kent, in Canterbury, have already contracted the illness, public health officials have revealed.

The disease can be spread through saliva, coughs and sneezes.

Some 10,000 students and 2,000 staff will be offered immunisation at sessions being held on Thursday and Friday and next Monday.

Quarantined immediately

A sports hall is to be used as a makeshift clinic for the MMR vaccination to be administered.

A helpline has been set up, manned by volunteers, to advise concerned students.

Kent Health Protection Unit staff said immunisation was being offered as a precaution.

Dr Mathi Chandrakumar, director of the unit, said: "It's very important to prevent any form of infection.

"Mumps is a mild infection but rarely you can have serious side effects; therefore it is important that the whole population is protected."

The six people already infected were quarantined immediately after going to medical staff on the campus on Friday.

They did not need hospital treatment and were said on Tuesday to be making a good recovery at home.