Infectious Diseases: German Measles Epidemic

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Spring 1964 is the best of times for a German measles party. The rules call for lots of kissing games in an unventilated room, so that all the little boys and, more especially, all the little girls get the infection. It is consistently so mild an inconvenience that for children of both sexes it is best to have it and get it over with; one bout generally confers lifelong immunity. There is just one vital precaution. No infected child should be allowed anywhere near a woman who is—or even may be—in the...

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