The article “Where Germs Lurk on Planes” by Scott McCartney was published in the Wall Street Journal on December 20, 2011 and can be found by visiting http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204058404577108420985863872.html
In this article, McCartney claims that infectious diseases are spread in airplanes when the air circulation systems are shut down, which is common during long waits before takeoff. In a 1979 study where an airplane was without air circulation for three hours, 72% of the passengers contracted the same strain of the flu, which then was traced back to one of the passengers on board.
The other factors that contribute to the high rate of infections spreading on planes are the high altitude, extremely dry air, and germs hidden on places such as tray tables, seat pockets, pillows and blankets. Moreover, some viruses can live up to one day on a plane, which makes disease contraction much easier.
McCartney writes about the infectious disease SARS and states, “On one flight studied, one passenger spread a particular strain to someone seated seven rows away, while people seated next to the ill passenger didn't contract the disease.” This account shows how unpredictable the spread of infectious diseases is on airplanes. One would think that a passenger sitting next to someone with SARS would be much more likely to contract the disease than a passenger seven rows away would.
McCartney’s tips on how to avoid getting sick while traveling on an airplane include washing your hands frequently, changing seats if someone around you is coughing or sneezing, avoiding using airline pillows and blankets, and using a disinfecting wipe to clean your tray table before using it.
As I was scrolling through Google News, this article struck me because I had always placed a lot of faith in airlines in that they would try their hardest to avoid hidden germs from multiplying. Luckily, I have never gotten sick after traveling but this article made me realize that I should be more cautious about germs while on a plane. With the holidays rapidly approaching, I thought this was an appropriate article to get the word out that people should keep their health in mind while on airplanes.
As we leaned in the Black Death unit in class, travel is a contributing factor to the spread of infectious and epidemic diseases. However, I had never thought about the fact that a disease that only one passenger had could be rapidly spread while on a plane, and then the other passengers who contracted the disease could spread it even further from there.
Reading this article made me wonder if passengers in the First Class section of the airplane are less likely to contract diseases than passengers in other parts of the plane. It would be very interesting if a study was conducted to determine this answer, because it might show that airline employees sanitize the First Class sections of the plane more than the other sections. If this was found to be true, I think an uproar would ensue.
I think that airlines should make a bigger effort to keep their airplanes as sanitary as possible. Airlines should be aware that travel is such a big factor in the spread of infectious diseases. Something as simple as providing hand sanitizer for passengers could make a difference between stopping a disease from spreading and allowing a disease to be spread.
I wonder why it is so easy for diseases to spread while on a plane. This article really makes me think that if it's this bad, plane companies should be doing more to promote good health and prevent the spread of disease on planes. I had always heard rumors that you always get sick after flying but I didn't know there is scientific percentages behind it. Someone should show this article to big name planes and force them to fix this issue. This article is especially important with so many people flying over the holidays and for vacation!
ReplyDeleteI think that this article was very interesting. While I was reading, many things stuck out to me. First the part about what happened in 1979 and 72 % of the passenegers contracted a flu. It was very weird that they did not have air circulation for three hours. This article really made me think about how many germs are being spread on an air plane. Whether you are just sitting in your seat, or getting up to go to the bathroom you could catch a disease. The tips that McCartney gave could help many people not contract diseases while on a plane. This article gave me a lot of good information and helped me learn how to try to stay clean on the plane.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting. I don't think that I couldn't travel on another airplane without hand sanitizer in my carry-on! And I feel like the chances of people getting sick in the first class section is the same as if you were sitting in the regular seats. They are still all humans, it just depends on how clean they are as a person,like if they wash their hands regularly or not. I don't think anyone is safe on an airplane if someone seven rows back gets sick, and the person sitting next to the infected person doesn't. That is a very eye opening fact. We all need to be careful on our travels.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was very interesting and it relates to a lot of people. This article shows how fast germs can spread from just one person to many people on a plane. It was interesting to see that a person seven rows away caught SARS and the person right next to the infected did not. Reading this article can help to make people more aware of the spread of germs and the ways to protect yourself from getting infected.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone that commented before me that this was a very interesting article. I’ve never really thought of airplanes as being a place where infectious diseases could spread easily. I’ve always thought of airplanes as clean environments since the ones I’ve traveled in before looked well kept. I was shocked to hear that in a 1979 study where an airplane was without air circulation for three hours, 72% of the passengers contracted the same strain of the flu, which then was traced back to one of the passengers on board. Hopefully, this is not the case on planes today. In order to prevent getting a disease, it’s highly recommended to wash your hands frequently and not use the airplane’s pillows and blankets. I connected this idea to our hand washing survey because it showed how much bacteria is on everything around us. Therefore, bacteria is the best way to prevent from getting a disease.
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