Rumored Measles Parties Are Just That—Rumors
The illicit news of these contagion parties simply isn’t true, sources have confirmed to Yahoo Health. (Photo: Getty Images)
The Internet has been buzzing with news about “measles parties” in the Bay area, where parents supposedly expose their unvaccinated children to one with measles in the hopes that their children catch the disease and become immune to it naturally.
It’s similar to the idea behind scary chicken pox parties that promise to “boost” your immune system against the disease (there’s even a Facebook group called Let’s Have a Chicken Pox party with 625 “likes”).
The measles party story has spread like, well, measles. But after reaching out to both the California Department of Public Health, as well as the Bay area mom widely quoted about being invited to expose her unvaccinated kids to a family with measles, Yahoo Health hasn’t found any proof that such measles parties ever existed.
While other news outlets are still running with the story, a couple of outlets, including Oakland’s KTVU.com, have now published accounts debunking the measles party rumors.
Related: Why Adults Should Get Their Measles Shots Again
The story appears to have started with a February 6 KQED article that quotes a Marin County mother of two, Julie Schiffman, recounting a story about how she was approached by another mom who suggested Schiffman’s two children, who are unvaccinated, have a play date with another friend’s child currently infected with measles.
The KQED article also included a statement from the California Department of Public Health, saying that the department “strongly recommends against the intentional exposure of children to measles,” and that a measles party “unnecessarily places the exposed children at potentially grave risk and could contribute to further spread of the outbreak.”
There’s no question that exposing children to measles is both dangerous and reckless. Complications from measles include pneumonia, which is the most common cause of death from measles in young children, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It can also cause encephalitis (swelling of the brain), which can lead to convulsions and leave a child deaf or mentally retarded, as well as death. The disease is so contagious that if a single person has it, 90 percent of the people close by who are not immune will also become infected, according to the CDC.
Related: Measles Cases This Year Show Sign Of Disturbing Trend
But the California Department of Public Health didn’t hear about local measles parties and then issued a state-wide warning about the risks. Rather, a reporter contacted the California Department of Public Health with a “what if” scenario and asked the department for a comment.
“A reporter called to ask us if we’d seen measles parties, and we said no,” a media contact for the California Department of Public Health, tells Yahoo Health. “Then they asked a hypothetical question, ‘What would your answer be if people were doing this?’ [Measles parties] are not something we’ve been seeing or are aware of. We didn’t issue any press release or statewide alerts. We’re not aware that this is happening in the state.”
As for Schiffman, the only parent quoted by name in the measles parties articles making the rounds, she tells Yahoo Health that she’s not sure how the KQED reporter found her, though it’s likely through a Facebook group she belongs to. “I had posted some comment in a completely private/invite only Facebook group when some moms were wondering if measles had hit Marin,” Schiffman says. “I said I knew measles was in Marin because a friend offered to connect me with the family [with measles] and wondered if I wanted to expose my kids. It was a snippet of a comment from a passing remark in a conversation about the measles outbreak.”
In a conversation with the KQED reporter, Schiffman told her explicitly that there was no measles party and that there was no playdate. “I explained the exchange in detail so she would understand that there was no actual invitation to expose kids. A friend of mine, who is fully vaccinated and so are her children, knew that I did not vaccinate my kids, and she also knew the local family with measles. She asked if I would want to expose my kids. I said I would not want to do that. I doubt the family with measles would have agreed to it either. There’s too much liability involved!”
Related: California Measles Outbreak Shows How Quickly Disease Can Resurface in U.S.
Schiffman has a vaccine exemption for her children and isn’t willing to share whether it’s for personal or medical reasons. “No one is privy to my family’s medical history or what goes on when we meet with our pediatrician,” she says. “It should not matter what the reason is for our family’s decision to not vaccinate; it is a family’s personal and private decision—one that should not to be mandated by the state and should not to be criticized by the public.”
But many people would argue with Schiffman that not vaccinating your child should no longer be a personal choice. In light of the multi-state measles outbreak that originated at Disneyland in California back in December, which has infected more than 100 people, and the fact that measles went from being declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 thanks to decades of childhood vaccine efforts to having its highest number of measles cases in 20 years, a growing number of people are deeply concerned about the increasing number of parents choosing not to vaccinate their children and worry that measles will continue to spread like wildfire.
In fact, lawmakers are currently moving to end the controversial “personal belief” vaccination exemptions in California. The legislation would make California the 33rd state to ban parents from opting out of vaccinations because of personal beliefs, according to Reuters, though this would not affect those with medical exceptions, such as children who are too young to get certain vaccines or kids like seven-year-old cancer survivor Rhett Krawitt, whose immune system is presently too weak to receive vaccinations.
