Читать книгу Principles of Virology, Volume 2 - Jane Flint, S. Jane Flint - Страница 106

Prior to the widespread use of the varicellazoster virus vaccine, some parents who wanted to control when their child would get chicken pox (mistakenly considered a childhood “rite of passage”) would host chicken pox parties, in which uninfected children would share lollipops licked by infected children. Given the presence of the virus in the oral mucosa, this practice ensured that the lollipop contained a high dose of the virus and virtually guaranteed infection. Moreover, because the incubation period for varicella is quite precise (about 14 days following exposure), parents could preplan days of from work to be with their sick child. Even today, there is a “black market” of virus-laced items (such as lollipops) available through the Web. Such practices are an almost inconceivably bad idea; infections by these viruses can be quite severe, and effective, safe vaccines do exist. Moreover, infected children pose risks to immunocompromised individuals, such as the elderly and cancer patients receiving immunosuppressive chemotherapy.