Education Law

Party animals?

Swine, to be exact.  Perhaps we should explain.  BoardBuzz came across a CNN article that shows that there has been talk about “swine flu parties” on Internet forums (get it, party animals?).  The idea behind this is that exposing a child to the H1N1 virus while it remains relatively mild will give the child immunity if the virus comes back stronger in the fall.  It is also derived from the once popular “chicken pox and measles parties”, which exposed children to those diseases so that they become resistant to subsequent infections.  BoardBuzz hopes that our invitation gets lost in the mail . . .

Flu pandemics often come in waves and there are fears that the H1N1 may return in the fall as a stronger strain.  Researchers who have studied the 1918 pandemic have found that in areas where there were more cases during the first wave, there were fewer deaths during the second wave, in the fall of that year. 

But experts warn that there is still little known about the virus and that actively encouraging its spread could risk the health of those who are most vulnerable.  So far, the highest rates of infection have been in 5 to 24 year olds, which may be adding another spark to the party idea.  

It is still not clear if any of those children’s parties have been held, but according to the article, the founder of the website Mumsnet.com, Justine Roberts, said that some people have been discussing the idea.  BoardBuzz prefers to take the advice of medical experts, so taking a child to a H1N1 party is not on our calendar.  In fact, BoardBuzz believes schools should alert parents to the dangers of such parties.  Getting children infected on purpose can make the virus spread more widely and, therefore, cause many other kids and adults to be sick and perhaps die.  It could also translate into many lost school days.   And while you’re thinking about that, take a few minutes to check out the latest facts and guidance documents at the CDC’s website.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on July 21, 2009 (boomark / email).