Parents Throwing Measles Parties, Ordering Packets of the Pathogens in the Mail Instead of Using Vaccine Amid Outbreak

The anti-vaccination craze continues with reports of parents attempting to bring back "measles parties."

Measles parties, also known as pox parties, stem from the pre-vaccination days, Orlando Sentinel reports. The gatherings are held by parents who deliberately expose their children to an infected child. Instead of receiving a goodie bag full of candy, parents hope their child will come home infected with measles in order to build a "natural" immunity to the illness. These "parties" were prevalent in the 50s and 60s prior to the development of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine.

Advocates of these parties say the children who become sick with measles make a full recovery without medical intervention, according to VOXXI. They believe children are considered immune for life because of these parties and argue children who receive vaccines cannot say they're immune for life because no vaccine is 100 percent preventative.

To the continued horror of doctors and health officials, parents are also reportedly ordering packets with the measles illness from around the country and receiving them through the mail. Sending contagious pathogens in the mail is a federal offense and considered an act akin to bioterrorism.

Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say measles can be deadly for children, especially those under the age of five. There is no way of knowing who can fight off the infection and who is susceptible to suffering from worst case scenario effects, which include bouts of pneumonia, brain swelling and death.

Plus, these practices can further spread the measles outbreak, which has infected more than 100 people in eight states and Mexico.

"This is a really bad idea," Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News chief health and medical editor, said of the measles parties. "Although most children recover from chicken pox and measles without a problem, not all do. The vaccines are far safer than the diseases."

The anti-measles vaccination craze stems from parents' fearing the MMR vaccine results in autism or other disabilities in their children. The CDC says, however, the adverse effects from the MMR vaccine are extremely rare.