Swine flu parties are still in the news. And on the Internet, the topic has gone viral (sorry). A search on the phrase produces over 3.3 million hits.

Still, I have to wonder whether this buzz reflects media frenzy rather than any real indication that people are deliberately exposing their children and themselves. As a reality check, I'd love to hear from any reader who has actually participated in such a party or knows people who did--and why.

At the least, a number of surveys this month indicate that many people are feeling complacent. At this point, only a minority of respondents say they will definitely get the H1N1, or "swine flu," vaccine. Admittedly, the majority of those who get sick do recover with nothing worse than a miserable week in bed.

But a new Canadian study backs up those early, scary reports out of Mexico--the ones indicating that this flu was proving deadliest among otherwise healthy adolescents and young adults--especially young women.

The researchers focused on 168 critically ill H1N1 victims in Canadian intensive care units between April and August. Septic shock and organ failure were common. Over 80 percent ended up on mechanical ventilators, or breathing machines. And 29, or 1 in 6, died. Their average age? 32. Nearly a third were previously healthy children.

"Our data suggest that severe disease and mortality is concentrated in relatively healthy adolescents and adults between the ages of 10 and 60 years," the researchers conclude in a report released in advance of its November publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The twist here is that these patients started out with what seemed like "ordinary" flu symptoms--the kind that public health officials tell us to treat at home. The difference was that their symptoms took a sudden and terrible turn for the worse.

This inability to tell who will or won't develop life-threatening complications seems to underscore the paramount importance of prevention. Vaccine party, anyone?

Science journalist Jessica Snyder Sachs is the author of Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and Survival in a Bacterial World. Got a question or comment about swine flu? Post it here. Throughout the flu season, Jessica will be answering your questions on all things influenza.