US Governor lets his child get chickenpox
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin believes that intentionally contracting chickenpox is a good way to prevent the disease in the future.
According toAP, in a mid-March interview withWKCTMatt Bevin revealed that he deliberately exposed his children to the chickenpox virus to get the disease and become immune.
"All my kids have had chickenpox," Bevin said. "They got it on purpose. We had a neighbor who had it, and I exposed them to him and they got it."
The governor said his children were “miserable for a few days” but were “all fine.” Mr. Bevin and his wife, Glenna, have nine children, four of whom are adopted.
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Mr. Bevin (middle) prevents chickenpox in his children by letting them get the disease. Photo:IFL. |
Some health experts expressed their displeasure at the Kentucky Governor's comments.
“No one should do this,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “We need to vaccinate our children. Vaccination is a huge public health victory in America, don’t back down.”
Mr Bevin still recommends that parents vaccinate their children against chickenpox, but says the government should not make vaccination mandatory.
“Why are we forcing vaccines on young children?” Mr. Bevin asked. “In many cases, vaccines are very good. But for some people, there are reasons to do otherwise.”
Under Kentucky law, children must be vaccinated against chickenpox before entering kindergarten. Parents can request a religious exemption or provide proof that their child has had the disease.
Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the Varicella-Zoster virus. It occurs in all ages, most commonly in school-age children. Usually, each person only gets chickenpox once and becomes immune immediately after the disease. However, if the immune system is weak, the disease can still recur.
Chickenpox usually does not appear immediately after the virus enters the body, but incubates for about 13-15 days. After this period, the patient has a mild fever, runny nose, loss of appetite, aches and pains, itching, and red spots appear all over the body in no particular order. The initial clear spots gradually turn opaque because of pus. Complications from chickenpox include infection, pneumonia, and encephalitis.
There is no specific treatment for chickenpox, so the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends vaccination as an effective way to prevent the disease.
