Spreading germs on the dancefloor

[MadamSamba]

This evening a guy who I regularly dance with told me he had spent the past week minding someone suffering from chicken pox. I immediately ran the othe way, despite him ensuring me that he had done his utmost to rid himself of the germs (he's a microbiologist and claims he knows how to do it "properly")...regardless, that didn't console me.

I did however get mad when I saw him dancing a progressive dance (where you change partners every round) which had over 100 couples in it. I didn't tell anyone, but feel he should have told people or at least stayed away for a few more days...just in case.

I don't mean to sound nasty, but I kinda wish the studio owners had found out, but also wonder what they would/could do about it.

I stay away from dancing when I'm sick with even something as small as a cold and think he shouldn't have turned up (or at least been smart enough not to tell anyone about it)? What are your thoughts on it?

[SwinginBoo]

I completely agree with you! First of all, I wash my hands several times a night when I'm dancing, even when I'm healthy. I think it's just a good idea since 99% of germs are transmitted that way. Secondly, I don't go dancing if I think I am coming down with something or have something. I would expect that others would do the same.

I'm appalled that that man would dance a progressive dance as you call it where he kept changing partners. It's just my reaction and opinion though.

[KevinL]

I wouldn't be particularly concerned about chicken pox, since most people have already had the virus. In addition, the virus stays resident in your body forever, unless it for some reason decides to go for an outbreak. When outbreaks occur the disease is called "shingles" and can vary anywhere from an itchy rash, to basically your skin breaking out in one big "pox". It's generally a localized occurance, though, because the virus is resident in nerve cells, and only break out in the skin surface serviced by that one nerve.

The reason that I wouldn't worry about chicken pox is that even if the patient was shedding live virus, just about anything that the caregiver/dancer did would have removed the virus from his skin so that it couldn't be transmitted to others. (Probably, depends on if he actually washed his hands.)

However, not all viruses are like chicken pox, and therefore everyone should take universal precautions, like washing their hands, and avoiding crowds if they are sick.

Kevin