Don't Attend Swine Flu Parties

by Rod Moser PA, PhD, a primary care physician assistant with more than 35 years of clinical experience.


When I was a child in rural Pennsylvania, routine vaccinations were just beginning. We had the oral polio vaccine and tetanus, of course, but very few of the cadre of vaccines that are now being given (or offered) to our children. There were not flu vaccines. And, there wasn't a vaccine for chicken pox (varicella).

Alpha / CC BY-SA 2.0

When a child came down with chicken pox, almost an expected rite of childhood, we would be excluded from school for about a week. Parents did not think this was a good idea to miss all of this school, so impromptu "Chicken Pox Parties" were often arranged so we could get purposely exposed. As you know, once you get chicken pox (the disease), you will usually have lifelong immunity. If the children get chicken pox in kindergarten, a time when missing a week of school is not that critical, they will not get it at a time that parents consider less convenient. So, off we went to play with kids that we did not know. They were odd kids - kids with "bumps" all over them and they were scratching and sick. It was not the party we had assumed or been promised, with cake and stuff. We were puzzled, but for the parents, this was their primitive immunization program.

Like clockwork, those of us who were purposely exposed would most-likely come down with chicken pox about two weeks later. The parents were happy since we would be immune to future infections, and not come down with a random case over Christmas or Thanksgiving, for example. Chicken pox in childhood is usually a mild, self-limiting, albeit miserable for the kids, disease. There are rare complications, like meningitis or death, but for some reason, the parents were willing to take the gamble with us. There were no vaccines; this was the best they could do.

I guess I should consider myself fortunate that I was not purposely exposed to measles, which is more likely to cause serious complications or life-threatening events, or other diseases. They only had chicken pox parties. I wonder what the parents would have felt if one of their purposely-exposed kids develop a serious complication? Fortunately, none of us did.

We now have a vaccination for chicken pox, one that some people still feel is unnecessary. The vaccine is not perfect since it does not offer a 100% lifelong immunity. It used to be just one vaccination with promises of "pretty-good immunity" if given at age one, but lo and behold, we now have to give a second booster of this vaccine at age five, since a large number of teenagers who only received the initial "one vaccine" started getting chicken pox in high school. This vaccine is required for school entry now, not primarily to save lives (which it does), but to save money! Money is really what drives our society. This was really the first vaccine that was developed more for economic reasons, since untimely outbreaks costs umpteen millions of dollars a year in lost wages and decreased productivity as parent took off a week to take care of mildly-ill kids with the disease. Of course, unimmunized kids can infect unimmunized adults. Kids, with their less-than-ideal hygiene levels, are experts at spreading diseases. Unlucky adults who come down with chicken pox are not happy campers. They tend to be more ill, and definitely complain more than the kids. So again, the kids get vaccinated to spare adults from the inconveniences of a disease.

Now, those same kids that went to "chicken pox parties" are now grandparents, and apparently may be up to party-planning again. This time, they are having Swine Flu (H1N1) parties. In light of the fact that we now have vaccine (if we can get it!) to combat this potential killer, I find these parties very disturbing. Over 4,000 (the numbers change every day, so I am sure it is more) people have died in the U.S. from this H1N1 strain, with more to come as the height of the flu season is beginning. As far as anyone knows, none of these deaths were the result of purposeful exposures, but it can, or will happen, if this troublesome trend continues.

There are infectious forms of diarrhea, like rotavirus. Should we start having diarrhea parties? Should we purposely expose other children by discouraging hand-washing just so others can get it too? Are we doing others an immunological favor by sharing rotavirus with them, and thus saving the cost of vaccinations? I think not. Teenagers often practice unsafe sex; so in essence, they are inadvertently having chlamydia, herpes, or HPV parties, nearly every weekend. These are not the immunological gifts that should be shared. These are parties that should not get anyone's RSVP.

When I was in family practice, I treated the same young man, about five times, for recurrent chlamydia. He did not like wearing condoms. They decreased his "sensitivity", so he said. Since he had good insurance and easy access to medical care, he would just keep coming back for treatment. Warnings about HIV or herpes met with deaf ears, until of course, he did get herpes. I didn't have to say, "I told you so". He knew I was thinking it.

Humans of all ages carry diseases from time to time. We hang out with humans. Humans practice varying degrees of hygiene and common sense. Humans spread diseases. Not all humans who get diseases have mild cases or self-limiting outcomes. Some get complications. Some die. Knowing this, I am mind-boggled as to why someone would organize swine flu parties.

I think that if we have the knowledge and tools to help prevent disease, we should endorse those practices. We have a vaccine to help prevent the spread of H1N1, so maybe we should consider taking it. Vaccines are not perfect, but that's okay. Humans are far from perfect, too, so it's a good fit.