Have you been invited to an H1N1 swine flu party so you can intentionally catch the swine flu?
Yes. That's a serious question.
When I was a child, before many of today's vaccines were available for children, parents used to hold chicken pox parties. The idea was that intentionally exposing a healthy child to one who had the chicken pox would cause the healthy child to catch the chicken pox while his or her immune system was strong. That way, the disease might be milder for that stronger child, the child would get through the disease more easily, and the antibodies needed for a lifetime defense against the chicken pox would be developed.
Now some people are wondering whether holding a swine flu party -- intentionally exposing healthy kids and adults to the flu -- is a good way to combat a more serious form of the disease.
Infectious diseases experts, and the CDC provide a resounding NO to the idea.
Here are some reasons why this may not be a good idea:
First, there are no studies available to confirm that a person who is well will suffer less than they would if they were run down or even already sick when they caught the virus responsible for swine flu. Since young, healthy adults and children seem to be most negatively affected by the H1N1 swine flu, there seems to be no basis for that theory.
Second, since the first swine flu was identified in 1976, there have been changes and mutations to the virus. That means that even someone who had the flu then might still catch the swine flu now. Scientists and infectious disease experts surmise that the virus could mutate again so if it came back in a few years or even dozens of years, it might not be an identical virus -- meaning, the immunity developed now would not protect against a future version of the same virus.
Therefore, the recommendation is to protect yourself and your family from getting the flu, not to hurry the process by intentionally exposing yourselves to the virus. That protection can take the form of getting vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu, by avoiding others known to have the flu, or by taking other precautions to prevent contagion.
References:
- The Centers for Disease Control
- Dr. Richard Jarvis, from the BMJ - British Medical Journal
