Are You Kidding Me?

How can you compare chicken pox to a potentially life threatening illness? Are these parents for real?

(CNN): You can probably picture the scene. Well, sort of…

Parents gather in a suburban living room, eating cookies, having coffee and discussing how quickly their children outgrow their new clothes.

Meanwhile, in the play room, the kids lay on mats and cushions, tired from an intense hide-and-seek and tag session. But then, the parents encourage the children to share ice cream spoons, whistles, soda cups even bubble gum.

Does that sound strange? Maybe. But this is exactly what happened at chicken pox parties that some of us grew up with. And the point is to have the boy with the red dots on his face infect all of the small children in the room.

Usually parents who want their healthy children to get chickenpox believe it will help them build immunity against more virulent strains. Others oppose vaccination.


Now there’s a growing buzz on the Internet about “swine flu parties,” and it has medical experts across the country up in arms as the H1N1 virus continues to spread across the U.S. In fact the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC), says it “expects that more cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths from this outbreak will occur over the coming days and weeks”.

The “swine flu party” chatter on flu web sites and public health blogs like Effectmeasure has even gotten the attention of a top US health official.

Having a “swine flu party” is “a big mistake,” said Richard Besser, the acting head of the CDC. “This is a new, emerging infection, and we’re learning more about it each day,” he said. “How an individual person will be impacted by the infection is not something that we know.”

“It’s a big mistake putting individuals and children at risk, and the CDC does not recommend that people follow that course,” he said.

US health officials fear that the unpredictable and potentially deadly A(H1N1) flu virus could mutate and appear as a more virulent, drug-resistant strain later in the year.

In fact as winter and the flu season approach in South America, the continent is on high alert for swine flu or A(H1N1).

In Colombia, the South American country closest to Mexico, authorities scrambled to stockpile antiviral medication and told schools to send home children who show up sick. So far, one case has been confirmed in the country of over 45 million, and dozens are under observation. Colombia has become the first South American country to confirm a case of swine flu but not the only one, just hours ago four were confirmed in Brazil and one in Argentina.

Meanwhile signs that things may be improving in Mexico, this weekend, Mexican soccer federation will allow fans to attend professional soccer games again.