Health officials are giving a big thumbs-down to the idea of so-called swine flu parties where people who already have the new H1N1 virus are brought together with others, including children, in order to infect them.

The apparent reason is that some people believe it's better to get H1N1 now while it causes mostly mild illness than in the fall when the virus might become more deadly.

Infectious disease experts, however, say deliberately attempting to develop immunity against swine flu is not a good idea.

Dr. Michael Gardam of the University Health Network in Toronto says he has heard about people tossing around the idea of flu parties for their children.

But he says the disease is not always benign, and children have become seriously ill or even died after getting infected.

New figures from the World Health Organization on Thursday showed that 7,983 swine flu cases have been reported in Canada and that 25 people have died.

The current strain of H1N1 influenza A virus has been circulating in several countries since it first appeared in Mexico in April.