Chickenpox Parties in the United States
The Associated Press recently reported that some families in the United States are organizing disease parties to expose their children to chicken pox rather than use the now commonly used chicken pox vaccine. But chicken pox can be deadly, and the reasons the families give for avoiding vaccination don’t jibe with the evidence.
Dr. Karin Galil, an infectious-disease specialist with the Centers for Disease Control, told the Associated Press that prior to the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine, about 100 people died annually from chickenpox and 5,000 to 9,000 people were hospitalized with the disease. Chickenpox can cause brain swelling, pneumonia and skin infections in children and adults.
The parents who are organizing chickenpox parties are apparently afraid that the vaccine does not provide life-long protection from the disease, and contracting chickenpox as an adult is far more dangerous than as a child. But long-term studies of the vaccine from Japan show that the vaccine offers effective protection for at least 25 years, with research obviously ongoing to track the effectiveness of the vaccine over longer periods.
Besides, contracting the disease as a child is also no guarantee that the disease will not be contracted as an adult. In fact, Great Britain, which does not vaccinate children for chickenpox, has recently had an increase in chickenpox deaths, mostly among adults. From 1978-85, there were 120 deaths from the disease in the UK, but from 1986-1997 there were 269 deaths from the disease. Whether or not this is a statistical anomaly or a real trend is up in the air (in fact, the British government disputes these findings which it says are based on “historic” data).
But regardless, the point is that even in environments where children are exposed to the disease, adult cases of chickenpox are still an inevitable. Parents choosing to intentionally expose their children to chickenpox rather than vaccinate are subjecting them to a real risk of injury or death for extremely tenuous (and likely non-existent) benefits 25 or 30 years in the future.
Source:
Leery of vaccine, some parents hold ‘chickenpox parties’ to infect kids. Associated Press, October 18, 2001.
Adult chickenpox deaths rise. The BBC, November 9, 2001.
Tags: Uncategorized