Thursday
Jul022009
Thu, July 2, 2009 | Lisa Barger Swine Flu Parties
“Is it true that people are throwing swine flu parties like they do for kids to catch chicken pox?”
Yes, according to an investigation by the BBC in England, people there are, indeed, throwing “swine flu parties”. And just like the so-called chicken pox parties done here, the one and only intention of these parties is to expose yourself to the H1N1 infection.
The thinking behind this nonsense is that if people catch the disease while it’s still in this relatively mild phase, they will have built up immunity to the disease by this winter when it could have potentially mutated into something more serious.
And it’s not just the UK that’s doing this, either. Although no credible reports of “swine flu parties” have been published here in the U.S., some of the natural health forums we visited recently have bandied the idea around.
Dr. Richard Jarvis, head of the Bitish Medical Association’s public health committee, warns against such ridiculous parties and reminds his patients that even though the H1N1 is relatively mild now, it is still killing people.
But could this actually work? Could you actually get some degree of protection by catching the flu now instead of later, when it might become more serious? Even Jarvis has to agree that the possibility exists. But he also claims that intentionally catching (and spreading) this flu could seriously undermine attempts to contain the flu.
Reference:
Triggle, N. (2009). Swine flu parties ‘a bad idea’. Retrieved from BBC.co.uk on July 2, 2009.
Yes, according to an investigation by the BBC in England, people there are, indeed, throwing “swine flu parties”. And just like the so-called chicken pox parties done here, the one and only intention of these parties is to expose yourself to the H1N1 infection.
The thinking behind this nonsense is that if people catch the disease while it’s still in this relatively mild phase, they will have built up immunity to the disease by this winter when it could have potentially mutated into something more serious.
And it’s not just the UK that’s doing this, either. Although no credible reports of “swine flu parties” have been published here in the U.S., some of the natural health forums we visited recently have bandied the idea around.
Dr. Richard Jarvis, head of the Bitish Medical Association’s public health committee, warns against such ridiculous parties and reminds his patients that even though the H1N1 is relatively mild now, it is still killing people.
But could this actually work? Could you actually get some degree of protection by catching the flu now instead of later, when it might become more serious? Even Jarvis has to agree that the possibility exists. But he also claims that intentionally catching (and spreading) this flu could seriously undermine attempts to contain the flu.
Reference:
Triggle, N. (2009). Swine flu parties ‘a bad idea’. Retrieved from BBC.co.uk on July 2, 2009.
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