Cold and flu virus spread by air travel
02-September-2010
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Cold and flu virus spread by air travel

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Airlines should do more to protect passengers from viral infections. Practically every time I've flown recently, I have come down with either a really bad cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhoea or a number of these symptoms.  I was sick for a week with vomiting and diarrhoea after a recent trip from the US.  My partner was sick both on the outgoing and incoming flight.  It took me a month to recover the last time as I have medical problems.  The time before that we both came down with sore throats, coughs and colds.  I am convinced it's because we were in an enclosed place with other people coughing and sneezing etc.

Air travel helps spread colds and flu

There are currently cases of swine flu in Mexico which are proving to be lethal and there's every chance that viruses like these may spread quickly with the assistance of air travel, possibly even to the UK.  I am seriously worried about my son and his wife who are flying from Mexico next week.  I don't want to lose my family to this and hope to goodness that airlines will be responsible and take precautions, after all, they have their staff to protect too.

I really don't know how the airlines could help protect passengers other than making them wear a mask or gloves, but I think they have an obligation to do so to avoid potential epidemics.  People may scoff at my concern but it doesn't take much for an airborne virus such as cold and flu to spread.  Think about yourselves, your children and partners etc.

Hygiene standards should be monitored and all passengers told to wash their hands before coming on board.  If they are ill they should tell airline staff and be given masks or at the very least tissues and not be allowed to sit next to the elderly or young children.  In the airline safety briefing they could remind passengers about the need to safeguard others by covering their mouths if they feel the need to cough or sneeze, and washing their hands after visiting the toilet.  You would be surprised at the number of people who don't realise the importance of being clean and neglect basic hygiene.

By: Mumwhocares


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I don`t know anything about air travel experiences but I do know that on two recent coach trip journeys I had cold symptoms also the following days after travelling. Obviously an absolute haven for bacteria, little fresh air, etc and possibly inadequate cleaning around seating areas.
*MerseysideAlice  16-Jul-2010 20:25

 
arrawn

I am sure that you are right. The recent scare regarding swine flu etc came to nothing but if there is ever a really deadly virus then air travel will spread it around the globe in double quick time.
*Kathleen W  11-Jun-2010 19:46

 
True! and it also reared its head again in the 15th,but luckily enough the Great fire of London proved to be a blessing in disguise.Thanks though for putting me right,but my point was that air travel,or the speed of it could still cause epidemics,of some very nasty illnesses.
*arrawn  11-Jun-2010 19:36

 
arrawn

The plague arrived in Britain in the fourteenth century not the seventeenth.
*anon  11-Jun-2010 19:08

 
It's clear to me that some travelers use those aircraft sinks as bidets. Think about that next time you are freshening up.
*anon  11-Jun-2010 17:40

 
I don't know much about air travel,but I certainly think that it would be possible to get on a plane with some dreaded illness that you may not even know you've got,and even walk around infecting everyone else,whereas in the dark old ages you would have died on the sea voyage and been dropped overboard.
And before you point it out to me about Bubonic plague,or any of the other deadly things that reached Britain in the 17th century,they are all now curable,I'm referring to modern maladies found in foreign travels that still cannot be controlled or cured.
*arrawn  11-Jun-2010 13:54

 
***** Travel filters - Veronica Whiteman (Cronulla, NSW, Australia)
Halo, I want to write and thank the person who invented breathe easy nose protectors, I travel heaps and always have a runny nose after flights and sometimes have had bad chest infections following a flight. I wanted to go to England for years but was so frightened because of my \"flight colds\" because I've actually ended up in hospital after one flight.
Well I decided to try Breathe ezy travel filters after reading about them on the net, I found they worked on a flight to Perth so I finally decided to see how I went using them on a flight to England.
Not a drop of trouble with sneezes or chest infections that usually follow the sneezes, I sing your praises that I can now go anywhere I want anytime
*Veron  22-Jul-2009 04:47

 
In other words : "I have no valid argument to put forward so I'm copping out of an argument I can't win."

Now who's throwing their toys out of the pram!
*MikeP  19-May-2009 15:05

 
Mike P - discussion over as far as I'm concerned. I think you enjoy picking holes in everything.
Cheerio...little one!
*Over and out  19-May-2009 14:43

 
"You are too exacting and probably jolly annoying! "
I am exacting, I take pride in accuracy when writing and I find it hard to accept that others don't. If you find that annoying, I'm sorry (I'm not really, but it's a pleasantry to say sorry!)

"I am human and you are not! "
Good point. Nicely expressed.

"I do have a point to make having lived in places where racism still exists and it is not nice. ?"
It really all depends on what you mean by racism. Too many people throw down the race card as an excuse for their own deficiencies, using as a convenient barrier against reality.

"You've thrown your toys out of the pram....and don't we now it! "
If you say so.

"You obviously love yourself and will look under the carpet for an argument!"
If you don't love and respect yourself it's hard to expect those around you to do so. It's a common failing. There is nothing wrong with loving yourself, up to a point.

I still don't get your point about Australia. Are you saying that Australia hands out nationality willy nilly to new immigrants? If so, you are wrong. The criteria are very stringent, and anyway a gook or a black with an Aussie passport is still a gook or a black, and if you don't like me saying so, then call me racist (or rascist if you prefer) and deny reality.
*MikeP  19-May-2009 13:34

 
Apologies for spelling mistake! You are too exacting and probably jolly annoying! I am human and you are not! I suppose nobody is allowed to make a simple spelling mistake. And that rules out an intelligent response? I do have a point to make having lived in places where racism still exists and it is not nice. How can a spelling mistake be taken so seriously?

Anyway the debate was about viruses! You've thrown your toys out of the pram....and don't we now it! You obviously love yourself and will look under the carpet for an argument!
*SPELLING MISTAKE - so hang me!  19-May-2009 09:27

 
Rascalism, that's what's bringing this country down. You can't go round calling your MPs a bunch of rascals, which they so clearly are. Our anti-discrimation policies and reverse rascalism where a more than equal share of rascals get selected has now meant we end up with more rascals in Parliament than natural selection would oherwise produce. It's not at all black and white, but rather more bad than good. The Nation at large has empowered the rascals and we cannot now get rid of them.
*Disputin  19-May-2009 05:19


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