US Governor lets his child get chickenpox

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 children have had chicken pox," Mr. 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 “all fine” in the end. Mr. Bevin and his wife, Glenna, have nine children, four of whom are adopted.

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 believes the government should not make vaccination mandatory.

“Why do we force 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 gains immunity immediately after the disease. However, if the immune system is weak, the disease can recur.

Chickenpox usually does not develop 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 rash is clear and gradually turns 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.