Nothing says 'fun' like a swine flu party

Dahling, don't tell me you're not on the list already? Everybody who's anybody is attending a swine flu party these days. Or so they say. Or maybe they don't really say that at all.

The BBC says there have been reports of people intentionally seeking out the company of people with swine flu to build up the immunity of their kids. Justine Roberts of Mumsnet spoke this morning on BBC Radio about discussions on their message boards in which mums were talking about the idea of swine flu parties. Dr Jarvis, chairman of the British Medical Association's public health committee who has been working to diagnose and treat people with swine flu, even advised against going to a swine flu party at a conference in Liverpool. He said:

"I have heard of reports of people throwing swine flu parties.

"I don't think it is a good idea. I would not want it myself.

"It is quite a mild virus, but people still get ill and there is a risk of mortality."

Of course, chicken pox parties are a traditional part of childhood, when the parents or nannies round up the kids, schedule a playdate and wait for the wee ones to rub off on one another. In New York, because of rules that children starting school need to have had either a vaccination or the pox itself, chicken pox parties are popular - and effortful - affairs, with kids in party dresses sharing lollipops and parents driving hours to attend.

But read closely and you see it's all a ferfuffle over nothing. BBC writes about "reports" of the get-togethers. As Justine points out on one Mumsnet thread, discussions about them centre around mums wondering whether whether it's better to get swine flu now rather than in autumn when it will have mutated and be more virulent. It's a valid question. Even the doctors don't know. But has anyone ever been invited? Has anyone stocked up on fairy cakes and actually thrown one?

Swine flu parties are a daft idea, not least because of the question of what to put in the party bag. There's also the risk of death, which spoils the fun, regular flu symptoms which are pretty terrible anyway and no guarantee you would actually create immunity.

But beyond that, swine flu parties are a daft idea because they are only that: an idea. Unless, of course, you've been invited to one. In which case, let me know what they served for snacks.