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Holiday travel is a recipe for infection. And recent studies have shown how easily the infamous cruise ship bug, norovirus, can be transmitted on planes.
After a passenger puked on an Air New Zealand flight, crew members tidied up, then clocked out after the plane landed. “Not only did the crew that cleaned up the mess get sick, but on every successive flight at least one or more crew members got sick with typical symptoms of norovirus.” David Freedman, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, at the recent meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
In fact, almost half of all crew members that worked the plane over the next five days picked up the virus. Planes aren’t scrubbed thoroughly between flights, and norovirus can linger on surfaces for days. But “in looking at the typical disinfectants that are used by airlines, none of the routine disinfectants would be considered effective against norovirus.”
So, when traveling, wash your hands often. And keep your fingers crossed.
—Katherine Harmon
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
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7 Comments
Add CommentI am dismayed that the SciAm editorial staff chose to pass the word "puked" over another, less offensive verb meaning emesis. Is this acceptance of boorish American slang indicative of the dumbing down of SciAm, which has a reputation as an erudite scientific journal, or simply representative of a particular contributor's vile vernacular? Regardless, the choice of word is distasteful and disconcerting.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHard to believe that anyone who chose a screen name with grunt thinks that saying puke is a problem......here is some advice from me.....get over yourself.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAgreed. I would MUCH rather succumb to the detrimental effects of norovirus that was caused by, or related to, a victim's regurgitation than get sick from somebody's puke.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou poor sensitive soul. Life must be such a trial for you. All those horrible words like puke, vomit, throw up, barf, – bark at the ants – blow chunks – blow groceries – bob – boke it – boot – boot and rally – bow down before the porcelain god – bow down to the porcelain god – bow to the porcelain queen – burl – cack – call dinosaurs – call Earl – call for Huey – call for O'Rourke – call Ralph on the big white phone – call Ralph on the big white telephone – call Ralph on the porcelain phone – call the whales – call Uncle Ralph on the big porcelain telephone – call up some dinosaurs – chuck – chuck (one's) cookies – chunder – cry Ruth – de-food – dial the porcelain phone.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs you can see, I consulted the slang dictionary. Australians are good at this. I think my favourite is "– call Huey down the big white telephone".
What's yours, ipgrunt?
If these bugs use same principle for flight as flying fish or flying spiders they can float freely on gusts of wind often found over oceans and seas and find islands or land in between where they can do their inbreeding stuff,they can colonize entire earth easily and start troubling especially humans."contagion"movie can get somewhat close to reality.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think "barfed" would have been a better choice but I also think it doesn't matter. It's a question of personal preference and not some kind of moral dictum.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWith the appalling overcrowding of air travel, it's amazing that there aren't far more infectious diseases passed on.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf this can happen on Air New Zealand, what must it be like on the cheap air lines?