"Get wild at a measles party"

Der Spiegel is rarely on the list of news sources we scan for developments in the world of vaccines, but we admit being intrigued upon seeing the headline above. Ironically, the story appears in a section of the site dubbed the "Germany Survival Bible," a traveler's guide to the upcoming World Cup. The story's subhead only adds to the fascination:

"Imagine being invited to a party where the sole purpose is to infect your child with measles. It's actually not all that uncommon in Germany. But then, many in the country are afraid of vaccines."

The premise is that the country's lack of vaccination requirements, national skepticism over ingesting chemicals, and what the story describes as the "widespread German feeling that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" combine to explain the motivation behind the practice. We're by no means experts on German culture or its public health attitudes, but the story sounds eerily similar to the all-anecdote, no-data 'hot new trend' stories that surface from time to time in U.S. publications.