American parents caught selling chickenpox-infected lollipops

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American parents caught selling chickenpox-infected lollipops. Photo Rex

American parents have been caught selling chickenpox-infected lollipops to other families who want their children to catch the virus while they are young.

Prosecutors in Tennessee have been forced to issue a warning that sending viruses or diseases by post is illegal, after parcels of the infectious sweets were discovered on sale over the internet.
Wendy Werkit, of Nashville, offered to send other parents a "fresh batch of pox" on lollipops or cotton-buds in return for $50 (£31) via PayPal.

Mrs Werkit told a local television station that she had been inspired to sell the products because parents were frustrated that "they can't get it the normal way any more".

Her advertisement was placed on a Facebook page intended to help parents find a "pox party" in their local area, where children can mix and pick up the virus, which can be more dangerous if suffered later.

Advice for the best way to send chickenpox emerged in a thread of postings on the site. "Tuck it inside a ziplock baggie then put it in the envelope," it said. "Don't put anything identifying it as pox."

Jerry Martin, the US attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, condemned the practice and said that it was a federal crime to send diseases or viruses across state lines.
"If you are engaged in this type of behaviour, you're not only potentially exposing innocent people to dangerous viruses and illnesses and diseases, you're also exposing yourself potentially to federal criminal prosecution," he said.

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Opinions?

Hilarious.

It's like an American Dad episode in one, I don't see any problem with it, it's just like injecting a child with a flu so their immune system becomes use to it.

Seems like a fine idea. It is much worse to have it as an adult than as a child iirc so why not. It seems like the issue here is just regarding the law of ferrying diseases across state lines rather than the moral implications of infecting kids since no one seems to care about the practice of 'pox-parties'.

I wonder if it was a long term operation though because how can you maintain a steady supply of chickenpox lollipops? I assume they just had their kids cough over a bunch and thought they'd make a quick buck off the back of the whole thing as a one-time deal.

It's no surprise they got caught though. Even with the potential benefits of catching chickenpox as a child you're bound to get someone reporting it. If there are people who are opposed to state-provided vaccinations then it seems unlikely that they're going to let someone trying to make money off of a DIY job slip under the radar.

You'd think they'd go through Tor or something rather than a bloody Facebook page lol.

I like the idea actually :D

That's quite sneaky. Not sure whether I like it or I don't, they're kind heloing the people. :p

it's quite a clever idea. i've never had chickenpox and my mom often says it would've been better for me if i'd had with my sisters when i was younger.

A nice idea but stupid to send it in the post. I can see why she's in trouble as it is completely stupid considering the post is handled by hundreds of thousands of postal workers in the US. They are likely to pick it up and either catch it themselves or pass it on to others. Unfortunately, I doubt she has the funds to travel personally with the virus.

This will be another reason not to accept sweets by people lol.

And i think it's a pretty good idea. My mom said chicken pox was awful :O

No, this is not a good idea because the varicella vaccine (otherwise known as just a vaccine against chickenpox) is all you need for your body to build antibodies against the disease. People in 2011, no, people starting in the 90s don't need to ever have chickenpox. Children only need this cheap or often free vaccine from their local physician.

Outright exposing children to chickenpox is wreck-less to the child (the chance is low but still there that they could become seriously ill), and it's also wreckless to society because 1) children who didn't want anything to do with these lolipops are being exposed via parents who purchased them, and 2) contrary to what most people think, you can get chickenpox twice. Immunity to a varicella vaccine can fade gradually. The only safe way to irradiate chickenpox is to vaccine our population (which is the popular method anyway), and since vaccination is already the norm when we all have children in ten years chickenpox will be left in the past (infact it's not even spoken of as often today because of the already existing vaccine). If nobody has it anymore, and everyone is vaccinated against it, it's a dead disease.

[@]@LoveToStack[/@] [@]@slowpoke[/@] [@]@bubblegunk[/@] [@]@gommeinc[/@]

^ someones upset cos they didnt get one

It's a weird idea. What next? Do it yourself Botux? LO

lol bottucks

I like the idea of it though

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Originally Posted by Catzsy

It's a weird idea. What next? Do it yourself Botux? LO

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Is that a concern or a wish? :P I'd like to see DIY MMR. I think you can do your own Botox now.

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Originally Posted by HotelUser

No, this is not a good idea because the varicella vaccine (otherwise known as just a vaccine against chickenpox) is all you need for your body to build antibodies against the disease. People in 2011, no, people starting in the 90s don't need to ever have chickenpox. Children only need this cheap or often free vaccine from their local physician.

Outright exposing children to chickenpox is wreck-less to the child (the chance is low but still there that they could become seriously ill), and it's also wreckless to society because 1) children who didn't want anything to do with these lolipops are being exposed via parents who purchased them, and 2) contrary to what most people think, you can get chickenpox twice. Immunity to a varicella vaccine can fade gradually. The only safe way to irradiate chickenpox is to vaccine our population (which is the popular method anyway), and since vaccination is already the norm when we all have children in ten years chickenpox will be left in the past (infact it's not even spoken of as often today because of the already existing vaccine). If nobody has it anymore, and everyone is vaccinated against it, it's a dead disease.

[@]@LoveToStack[/@] [@]@slowpoke[/@] [@]@bubblegunk[/@] [@]@gommeinc[/@]

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Agreed to some extent. I can see arguments for getting it naturally though exposure. Some people prefer the human immune system to build itself up rather than rely on external help like injections. I was told it would be best to expose myself than rely on medicinal help, and was told to stay as far away from cleaning products like Dettol as physically possible. Either way, it is very irresponsible and does bring up concerns about child rights and responsibilities, but I guess the courts may agree the parents buying the sweets were only acting in the good of their children - the seller on the other hand...

I agree with Dave here. The idea that people are infecting their children with diseases in the 21st Century is just bizarre! While the parents buying the sweets may have been acting with their childrens' best interests that does not mean that everyone would. For example, if some little **** threw bricks through my window, I could give him the lollipop and hope he/she gets ill as a bittersweet (no pun intended) revenge!


By all means, protect your child from diseases but let them get it naturally to fight it or vaccinated against it rather than self-inflicting it on them.

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Originally Posted by GommeInc

Is that a concern or a wish? :P I'd like to see DIY MMR. I think you can do your own Botox now.

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You can and definitely not a wish or a concern. If people want to go around with inactive faces that look like clones that's up to them. :P

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Originally Posted by Inseriousity.

I agree with Dave here. The idea that people are infecting their children with diseases in the 21st Century is just bizarre! While the parents buying the sweets may have been acting with their childrens' best interests that does not mean that everyone would. For example, if some little **** threw bricks through my window, I could give him the lollipop and hope he/she gets ill as a bittersweet (no pun intended) revenge!

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Really you'd still be doing the kid a favour. If they'd been vaccinated then no harm done, if not then they get chickenpox as a child and are saved from worse symptoms as an adult.

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By all means, protect your child from diseases but let them get it naturally to fight it or vaccinated against it rather than self-inflicting it on them.

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What benefit is there to getting chickenpox 'naturally' rather than through a pox-party or through one of these infected lollipops? It's the same virus. Letting nature 'take its course' and hoping that you kid naturally contracts it is much riskier than just deliberately infecting them due to the severity of getting chickenpox as an adult. Fair dues you can argue for getting the vaccine over deliberately infecting your children but letting them "get it naturally" doesn't make sense.

give me some so i can have days of school

I don't like this idea at all:S i'm going to be scared of eating a lollipop now :(

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Originally Posted by HotelUser

No, this is not a good idea because the varicella vaccine (otherwise known as just a vaccine against chickenpox) is all you need for your body to build antibodies against the disease. People in 2011, no, people starting in the 90s don't need to ever have chickenpox. Children only need this cheap or often free vaccine from their local physician.

Outright exposing children to chickenpox is wreck-less to the child (the chance is low but still there that they could become seriously ill), and it's also wreckless to society because 1) children who didn't want anything to do with these lolipops are being exposed via parents who purchased them, and 2) contrary to what most people think, you can get chickenpox twice. Immunity to a varicella vaccine can fade gradually. The only safe way to irradiate chickenpox is to vaccine our population (which is the popular method anyway), and since vaccination is already the norm when we all have children in ten years chickenpox will be left in the past (infact it's not even spoken of as often today because of the already existing vaccine). If nobody has it anymore, and everyone is vaccinated against it, it's a dead disease.

[@]@LoveToStack[/@] [@]@slowpoke[/@] [@]@bubblegunk[/@] [@]@gommeinc

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There isn't a Chickenpox vaccine in the UK though :P

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1032.aspx?CategoryID=62&SubCategoryID=63

As long as its voluntary then I see no problem, its best for your child to contract chickenpox otherwise it can be deadly when older.

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Originally Posted by -:Undertaker:-

As long as its voluntary then I see no problem, its best for your child to contract chickenpox otherwise it can be deadly when older.

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Adults handle post in the postal centres. It is a stupid idea as it's putting everyone at risk e.g. the middleman, the postal workers :P If the lollypops were sent directly from supplier/distributor to the buyer, it would be fine, but they're sending it in the ordinary post where adults may be catch it.

I think this is wrong, why do that? Why not just get the kidsvaccines?:S

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Originally Posted by -:Undertaker:-

As long as its voluntary then I see no problem, its best for your child to contract chickenpox otherwise it can be deadly when older.

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But what's not voluntary is the fact that you're not only giving your child the disease, you're potentially giving it to other children as well. As you said it's deadly when older, so that is exactly why it's irresponsible to expose people to the disease when it increases the risks for others around you such as the elderly.

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Originally Posted by Recursion

There isn't a Chickenpox vaccine in the UK though :P

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1032.aspx?CategoryID=62&SubCategoryID=63

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That's pretty interesting Tom! I imagine that will change throughout our lifetime, but regardless you *can* get vaccinated in Canada and the US, so it's still in our best interest not to cause unnecessary exposure to the disease.

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Originally Posted by HotelUser

But what's not voluntary is the fact that you're not only giving your child the disease, you're potentially giving it to other children as well. As you said it's deadly when older, so that is exactly why it's irresponsible to expose people to the disease when it increases the risks for others around you such as the elderly.

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But the disease exists, therefore it is best to have more people immune to the disease whenever a outbreak arises (which it will and always will do so for the forseeable future) so that as many people as possible are able to fight off this potentially deadly infection.

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Originally Posted by HotelUser

That's pretty interesting Tom! I imagine that will change throughout our lifetime, but regardless you *can* get vaccinated in Canada and the US, so it's still in our best interest not to cause unnecessary exposure to the disease.

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Interestingly there could be differences in chicken pox in the US/Canada and the UK. We may not have such a violent form of the virus, while in the US it is more deadly. Some of the injections offered by the NHS when we're younger could also cover the extremes of chicken pox too. Depends if someone has a study and if we're active enough to go and find such an article :P

Thats nasty, yuck.. why buy/sell those? ewww

That is actually Hilarious.