While most parents worry about their children’s Halloween candy containing an allergen, drugs, or even razor blades, I’m sure it’s rarely, if ever, crossed someone’s mind that those same treats could be contaminated with a viral infection.
However, parents in Queensland, Australia, were left terrified and on high alert this Halloween after a woman purporting to be a nurse told Facebook she had infected her Halloween candy with chickenpox, Newsweek reported.
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The unnamed Queenslander shared the news to an anti-vaccination Facebook page, where she said she couldn’t wait to “help others in our community.”
“So my beautiful son…has the chickenpox at the moment and we’ve both decided to help others with natural immunity this Halloween!” she wrote.
She went on to say they’d mastered opening and resealing the candy packages, and even offered to send the tainted candy to any willing parents.
“If anyone else would like some for their children happy to send via post for $1 plus postage to your location,” she wrote.
It’s unclear what the reactions were to the woman’s original post.
It appears that post has since been removed from the Facebook page, Stop Mandatory Vaccination , but was later shared by the Facebook group, Light for Riley .
This particular group advocates for vaccination after the creators’ son, Riley, died as a newborn from whooping cough.
“Have you ever seen something that instantly makes your skin crawl?” the post reads, adding that the “RN” after the woman’s name indicates that she claims to be a registered nurse.
It goes on to list all the inherent problems with the woman’s chickenpox-infected candy claims.
That includes the fact that this woman formulated “a plan to intentionally infect other people’s children unknowingly by distributing contaminated lollipops to the community on Halloween”.
Not to mention how she then gloated about it on Facebook, as if it were something worth bragging about.
The post has been shared more than 1,500 times and caught the attention of Queensland Health.
They oversee the staffing at all the state’s hospitals, including Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane where the unnamed woman claims she works as a staff nurse.
According to them, this woman is not a nurse, at least not at any of their hospitals.
“There are no current or former employees by that name that have worked for Queensland Health as a registered nurse,” a spokesperson commented directly on the post.
They also confirmed that the woman’s claim is a “serious issue” which police are now investigating.
Following this news, the woman reportedly took to her own Facebook page to address “internet trolls.”
“You think you’re right by judging me and [by] trying to report me and get me fired,” she wrote. “I don’t care. The health and well being of my baby is far more valuable than any job.”
She went on to blast her critics who called her “vile and gross.”
“Like I have done something that hundreds of thousands of parents haven’t already done,” she wrote.
The woman went on to liken intentionally contaminating children’s candy with chickenpox to letting sick kids go to school.
“How many times do you see children dropped off to day care or school when they’re clearly sick an contagious?” she fumed. “Exactly! And I’m offering lifelong immunity for the price of a couple of blisters and a few days off school.”
h/t: Newsweek
