Home argument is little unimaginable.
Because every mother carries her child when child is young. And is exposed to large population out of curiosity and general happiness(whoever meets the mother meets the child).Infact the interaction is very close.
There are great number of chances to contract a disease.
What you are saying effectively is that because only Teenage or lower class people get infected therefore it spreads in their group.
But Why Only Children of that Age?
A new born should also get infected. Unless we insist that disease requires an infected person of specific age. Then only we can explain that it effects children at certain age as children of same age group together.
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F4%2F4e%2FWindpocken.jpg%2F200px-Windpocken.jpg&hash=fdedd62373d480ad4b8351f9be2475ea)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Windpocken.jpg/200px-Windpocken.jpg
Hi dkv,
I think we need to set some basic points about infectious diseases here.
To infect with chickenpox some non-immunized person (usually a very young one) you need some 'carrier' of the virus. An infected person starts a sort of epidemics around susceptible individuals (usually children). The pathogen involved is a DNA virus of the Herpes family, called HHV-3 (Human Herpes Virus 3) or VZV (Varicella Zoster Virus).
-Infectious 'contacts' are patients with active disease, BEFORE setting up their immune defense (specific antibodies).
-Active systemic disease is chickenpox itself: breath droplets and 'wet' pustules containing HHV-3.
-Active local disease is Herpes Zoster (Shingles): 'wet' pustules containing HHV-3.
-A fetus can get infected (and heavily damaged) only when an unimmunized mother herself gets infected during pregnancy. Most people over 2 decades of age get immunized, either they showed signs and symptoms of chickenpox or not (asymptomatic infection).
In some countries vaccination campaigns are helping and preventing these rare events.
Immunodeficient patients (AIDS, chemo, transplanted) exposed to HHV-3 contacts may suffer reactivation and extensive damage, but special antiviral drugs and 'Hyperimmune' human immunoglobulins are available. And this is another story anyway.
ikod
P.S.: I found this a great, enjoyable reading for the lot of us:
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2361.htm
Paediatric varicella hospitalisations in France: a nationwide survey.
Grimprel E, Levy C, de La Rocque F, Cohen R, Soubeyrand B, Caulin E, Derrough T, Lecuyer A, d'Athis P, Gaudelus J; Pediatricians Working Group.
Groupe de Pathologie Infectieuse Pédiatrique de la Société Française de Pédiatrie, Paris, France. emmanuel.grimprel@trs.ap-hop-paris.fr
Paediatric patients hospitalised with varicella (n = 1575) were reported to a French national network between March 2003 and July 2005. Superinfection was identified in 50.3% of cases, principally of skin and soft-tissue (36.5%).
The risk of superinfection increased with fever relapse, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, prolonged fever, an age of 1-5 years, and contamination at the childminder's home. Neurological complications were observed in 7.8% of cases, while pulmonary complications were less frequent (3.1%). Forty-nine patients had sequelae and eight patients died. Surveillance should continue in France with a view to the future implementation of a universal vaccination programme.
Clin Microbiol Infect. 2007 May;13(5):546-9.