Pox party

Pox parties, also known as flu parties, are social activities in which children are deliberately exposed to infectious diseases such as chickenpox. Such parties originated to "get it over with" before vaccines were available for a particular illness or because childhood infection might be less severe than infection during adulthood, according to proponents.[1][2] For example, measles[3] is more dangerous to adults than to children over five years old.[1][4][5] Deliberately exposing people to diseases has since been discouraged by public health officials in favor of vaccination, which has caused a decline in the practice of pox parties,[6] although flu parties saw a resurgence in the early 2010s.[7]

Another, more modern, method of intentional contagion involves shipping infectious material. In many parts of the world, shipping infectious items is illegal[8] or tightly regulated.[9][10]

  1. ^ a b Blatchford, Emily (March 7, 2016). "Chicken Pox 'Parties' Are Dangerous and Unnecessary, Experts Say". Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2018 – via Huff Post. Given the highly contagious nature of chicken pox, the thinking behind such events was, seeing as the child would probably contract it at some point anyway, why not catch it early and get it over with?
  2. ^ "Chapter 22: Varicella". CDC. July 27, 2018. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "The Return of the Measles Party". The Guardian. July 26, 2001. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "Chapter 13: Measles". CDC. July 27, 2018. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2018. Complications of measles are most common among children younger than 5 years of age and adults 20 years of age and older.
  5. ^ "Vaccine Safety". Vaccine.gov. US National Vaccine Program Office. Archived from the original on March 13, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  6. ^ "Transmission". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  7. ^ McNeil Jr, Donald G. (May 6, 2009). "Debating the Wisdom of 'Swine Flu Parties'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  8. ^ Ghianni, Tim (November 12, 2011). "Swapping Chicken Pox-infected Lollipops Illegal". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2011. A federal prosecutor is warning parents against trading chicken pox-laced lollipops by mail in what authorities describe as misguided attempts to expose their children to the virus to build immunity later in life.
  9. ^ "Dangerous Goods Regulations" (PDF). www.iata.org. IATA. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  10. ^ "Infectious Substances Shipping Training". www.who.int. WHO. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2018.