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Health officials across the country are being told to stop using a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine that is now being investigated for possible links to six cases of serious allergic reactions in patients in Alberta.

All six people, who were treated and have fully recovered, received an inoculation from the same batch of a product known as MMR-II, which is sold by Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. They experienced anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal reaction.

But the Quebec-based company said two other lots of the vaccine were made with the same material and are affected by Health Canada's warning to suspend use until a probe is completed.

"We always take these things seriously, but this is not a disaster," Merck spokeswoman Sheila Murphy said yesterday.

In total, 276,290 doses were shipped across the country with the bulk - more than 222,000 doses - ending up in Alberta, which is trying to stem the tide of a mumps outbreak.

Significant quantities of the vaccine also wound up in Manitoba, Quebec and British Columbia. Also affected, but in much smaller numbers, are all four Atlantic provinces as well as Ontario, the Northwest Territories and Yukon.

Karen Grimsrud, Alberta's acting chief medical officer of health, said because the province's supply has been crippled by the suspension, it has asked other regions for extra doses while it looks for a new supplier. Meanwhile, it has halted the immunization campaign among young adults and kindergarten children.

Arlene King, a director-general with the Public Health Agency of Canada, said the federal government is working to address national supply issues.

"We are ensuring we have enough supply to address the immediate needs in the country, particularly related to the pediatric program and any needs related to outbreak control," she said.

Dr. King said the agency has two ways to address supply problems: reallocating vaccines between provinces and territories and looking to other drug manufacturers for more product.

In the meantime, no other cases of anaphylaxis have been reported in Canada, but Merck is looking at whether anything during the manufacturing process might be to blame or if there are other cases of illness elsewhere in the world.

"At this point, we haven't seen any problem," Ms. Murphy said. "...We've come up empty-handed so far."

She, as well as public health officials, also pointed out that at least five of the six patients who fell ill in Alberta had a history of allergic reactions.

In Alberta, there have been 157 reported cases of mumps since September, and about 62,800 young people have been vaccinated during the recent campaign targeting at those aged 17 to 26.

Dr. Grimsrud said none of those people should be concerned about experiencing a possible allergic reaction because symptoms occur immediately or, at most, 24 hours after the injection is received.

Mumps is a viral infection of the salivary glands.

The virus is spread through contact with any surface that has been contaminated, or through saliva, coughing, sneezing, sharing drinks or kissing.

Symptoms, which can take up to seven to 10 days to appear, typically include fever, headache, muscle aches and loss of appetite. In rare cases, mumps can lead to meningitis or inflammation of reproductive organs.

Health Canada spokesman Alastair Sinclair said yesterday it's not known how long the investigation will take. But Merck has been asked to provide a written report on any manufacturing or safety concerns associated with the affected vaccine lots.

Mr. Sinclair said federal officials will also work with the drug company, as well as the six Albertans who became sick.

"They are going to do some follow-up. I understand there is nothing so far, but we want to make sure there are no further side effects," he said.

According to Health Canada, millions of doses of the vaccine have been administered in this country since 1988, and there have been only 27 reports of anaphylaxis after immunization.

Health officials have been racing to immunize young adults across the country since a mumps outbreak was first detected in Atlantic Canada earlier this year and has since spread westward.

Nova Scotia, which has been the epicentre of the outbreak and has had 744 reported cases of mumps since February, said yesterday that none of the 4,030 affected doses it received were ever administered.

Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief public hea

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Locations of affected doses

Merck Frosst Canada has distributed 276,290 doses of its measles, mumps and rubella vaccine across the country that are now being investigated in connection with six suspected cases of serious allergic reaction in Alberta.

All six cases are linked to a single lot of the vaccine, but two other lots are also affected by Health Canada's warning to suspend use until the probe ends.

Where are the affected doses?

Alberta - 222,290

Manitoba - 19,250

Quebec - 17,950

British Columbia - 8,050

Nova Scotia - 4,030

Ontario - 1,780

Newfoundland and Labrador - 1,500

Prince Edward Island - 700

Northwest Territories - 550

Yukon - 150

New Brunswick - 40

Source: Merck Frosst Canada Ltd.