After reports of the mumps on two Western Hockey League teams, Alberta Health Services is advising the province to make sure proper measures are taken to not catch the contagious virus but making sure vaccinations are up to date.

Dr. Judy McDonald of AHS in Calgary says the mumps can easily spread through contact with saliva.

"Mumps is vaccine preventable but it's always a good idea to take precautions to avoid getting exposed to other people's saliva," she says. "So we can't over emphasize the importance of not sharing things like water bottles especially with sports teams, shared water bottles are not a good idea."

Members of the Medicine Hat Tigers and Brandon Wheat Kings caught the virus and the AHS South Zone has declared nine cases of the mumps the past two months.

McDonald says if you were born after 1970 you have had the opportunity to receive a pair of mumps shots to help battle the virus.

"They would have had opportunities to get two doses and for older ones maybe have had one dose and that may be appropriate for them depending on their situation. People that are born before 1970 likely were exposed to the mumps because we didn't have a vaccine in use then."

McDonald says that an outbreak hasn't been declared yet across the province but says checking up on your family's vaccinations isn't a bad idea either.

"We have some cases of mumps, that's not unusual. We do see occasional cases of mumps. We do know there's increased activity in some other areas of Canada, specifically Manitoba and recently reported in Toronto so it could come here too."

The mumps is a viral infection of the salivary glands that have the effects of fever, headaches and the common look of a swollen face.

The only measure of recovery for the mumps is to stay away from contact with others and rest.

For more information on mumps vaccinations follow the link.