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EARLY April, an American Airlines flight was grounded and temporarily
quarantined in San Jose, Calif., while public health officials determined
whether several individuals on board were sick with severe acute respiratory
syndrome, or SARS. A little more than a week later, the health department
in Hong Kong asked passengers on seven separate Lufthansa flights
to check in with health officials because a traveler on those trips
was infected with the virus. With such a highly contagious bug potentially on board, travelers may wonder exactly how safe it is to fly these days. Some public worry is justified because too little currently is known about the virus for scientists to say with certainty that flying is safe. But people can take comfort in the fact that newer airplanes have strong filters against viruses and airlines operating in affected countries have implemented policies to keep travel as harmless as possible. FEW SARS CASES FROM FLIGHTS While there have been reports in Asia of people falling ill with SARS after sharing flights with an infected individual, there haven’t been many, says Dr. Mark Rosen, chief of the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. |
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That small number indicates the risk is probably
very low because there have been a large number of passengers exposed
to travelers who were infected with the virus, he adds. Still, some experts say the low infection rate among air travelers could simply be due to luck. It’s possible that the numbers would be different if a so-called “super-spreader” were on board, says Dr. Richard Olds, professor and chairman of the department of medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. “Some people with SARS are highly infectious,” Olds explains. In other diseases, such as tuberculosis, wide variation in infectiousness occurs depending on the location of the infection, he said. DIFFERENT ROUTES OF TRANSMISSION With SARS, someone with an infection in the deep tissue of the lungs may not spread the disease as easily as an individual who has in infection in the upper air ways where a lot of air comes out at high pressure, Olds says. |
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When the ventilation system is turned on, passengers
get a mix of outside and recycled cabin air that’s been run through
a HEPA, or a high-efficiency particulate air filter, Space says. HEPA
filters remove extremely small particles, such as viruses and dust. In theory, filtration is a great way to clean up the air. But, despite the fact that aircraft manufacturers recommend that ventilation systems be running constantly while passengers are on board, often, when planes are sitting on the tarmac awaiting permission to take off, the system is turned off, experts say. “The real issue is when a plane is on the tarmac for an extended period of time,” Wisconsin’s Olds says. “At an airport like LaGuardia, you might sit on the tarmac for hours.” SURFACES ABSORB VIRUSES Even if the air is clean, passengers should remember that virus particles coughed or sneezed onto surfaces, like armrests and tray tables, may keep their potency for hours afterwards. Currently, airlines follow guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that call for extra disinfection if it turns out a SARS infected traveler was on board, says Diana Cronan, a spokesperson for the Air Transport Association, the trade association of U.S. airlines. |
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But, at the moment, the CDC does not recommend
any special disinfection procedures. So, if a SARS infected person
is on board, but not recognized, virus particles could be left behind
on surfaces, experts say. “You could sit down in the very seat that a SARS infected person sat on,” says Dr. John A. Zaia, chairman of the department of virology at the Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope in Duarte, Calif. “The arm rests might be contaminated. If you touch that and then rub your nose or eyes, that is potentially a risk.” For this reason, experts suggest frequent hand washing with either soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. RESTRICTIONS AGAINST ASIA TRAVEL When it comes to travel to Asian countries, the CDC and many infectious disease experts are currently recommending travelers postpone trips, if they can. But new safety measures taken by airlines and airports may lessen the risk for those travelers who must fly to affected countries. The Hong Kong Airport Authority, for example, has begun to take the body temperature of all outbound passengers to prevent the spread of SARS. Singapore Airlines has made airplane cleanup more stringent when flights originate from certain cities. Now, a plane flying between Singapore and Hong Kong will be disinfected prior to leaving Singapore and again prior to leaving Hong Kong, says James Boyd, an airline spokesperson. All hard surfaces, including overhead bins, guard rails, tray tables, video monitors and telephones are cleaned, he adds. The airline also has trained staff to spot symptoms that might help identify passengers who are infected with SARS, Boyd says. Any passenger who appears to have SARS symptoms will be referred to a doctor, he says. |
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The airport at Singapore also has changed its
procedures, Boyd says. “Elevator buttons, water coolers doors and
push plates are being disinfected hourly,” he adds. “And the handles
for the moving sidewalks are cleaned after the arrival of a plane
from a SARS affected country.” Public health officials in the United States also meet airplanes coming from affected countries and provide passengers with information sheets about SARS symptoms and the importance of contacting a doctor, if necessary. ULTIMATELY, SARS RISK IS SMALL Ultimately, the risk of contracting SARS on a plane trip is probably small, experts say, especially if the trip isn’t to Asia. “If the travel is in the United States, South America or Europe, I wouldn’t lose any sleep worrying about SARS, Beth Israel’s Rosen says. “Of course you don’t know for sure, but life is full of uncertainty. If you want a guarantee of being safe, stay home and close the door.” |
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