WASHINGTON (AP) – Planes provide the quickest way to get from one part of the world to another – for deadly contagious diseases as well as for people.

In the spring of 2003, the respiratory virus SARS journeyed to five countries in 24 hours after emerging in rural China. Airline and tourism industries lost billions of dollars worldwide because people were afraid to travel and governments ordered flights canceled.

With concerns about bird flu rising, U.S. health and aviation officials are taking steps to guard against a repeat.

More quarantine stations have been set up at airports. A better system is in place for tracking travelers who might have been exposed. Flight crews have instructions to report sick passengers.

They have been instructed to not only look for and report, but detain individuals who appear sick. A high alert has been placed on travellers from Asian nations. These people will be quarantined, and the other passengers will be advised to see an MD immediately. Discussions are taking place as to whether all passengers on a flight with a potentially H5N1 infected person should be quarrantined.

The disease is most prevalent in Southeast Asia, to which only two U.S. airlines fly their own planes – United and Northwest. But officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, airlines and U.S. aviation officials are keeping a close eye as the disease spreads elsewhere.

“The best thing we always do in these situations is stay in close touch with CDC and as soon as we hear something, we kick it out,” said Steve van Beek, executive vice president of the Airports Council International, a trade group. By that he means letting airports know they should be prepared to make space available and tell staff and police that planes will need to be isolated and passengers quarantined.

I would stay off of flights using United and Northwest right now.

Planes provide a good environment for spreading disease. Passengers are in close quarters and confined for hours, and multiple people may sit in the same seat between cleanings as the jet makes different stops.

It’s how SARS spread SO fast.

One way to limit the spread of disease is to force recirculated air through high-efficiency particulate filters, which trap fungi and germs. HEPA filters are used on about three-fourths of all commercial airplanes, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Alison Duquette said.

“It’s a standard industry practice for new aircraft,” Duquette said.

Airlines also follow CDC guidelines calling for flight crew to separate a passenger with a contagious disease, if possible, and provide a surgical mask. Pilots, by law, must notify the nearest quarantine station and quarantine workers will arrange for medical assistance, notify health departments and work with the airline to make sure the disease germs are killed, according to the CDC.

“Flu is pretty easy to kill with disinfectant,” Andrus said.
—SNIP—
Brown said he’s unaware of any standard for plane cleanliness. Airline cleaners wipe off stains and spills, and maintenance workers deep clean them during heavy maintenance checks, but Brown said he doesn’t know of any airlines that disinfect seat belts, tray tables and overhead bins on a weekly basis.

Infection control experts have advised ALL airlines to disinfect the interiors of planes after EACH flight. Plain and simple. A spray and wipe down is all that is needed, provided they use an appropiate cleaner. Bleach works wonders as does Lysol. Once a week is just not enough.

Airports that have CDC QU Units:
Airports with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quarantine stations:

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

Miami International Airport

Chicago O’Hare International Airport

New York John F. Kennedy International Airport

Honolulu International Airport

San Francisco International Airport

Los Angeles Tom Bradley International Airport

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport

Washington Dulles International Airport

Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Anchorage International Airport

Boston Logan International Airport

Detroit Metropolitan International Airport

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

San Diego International Airport

San Juan Luis Munoz Marin International Airport

Keep in mind that these are quarantine units, NOT isolation units. There is a big difference. CDC QU units are merely meant to contain people who are sick, not to prevent the spread of the agent causing the sickness. For that they would need to be in ISO units. ISO units can be set up in a matter of hours; they are portable and easy to move.

CDC ISO units are not like typical hospital isolation rooms. These units have ante rooms that staff enter, to scrub up, then another ante room for dressing/gowning. The actual room has reverse air pressure settings, that are attached to 02 machine tubing as well as breathing masks. The by products of expelled air are sent out to an incinerator. Not all countries have CDC ISO rooms located at their airports, only a handful. And those that do don’t allow US CDC workers to assess patients.

The nations that have the original strain of H5n1 have no CDC type facilities at all, and it’s a BIG reason why this has spread into Romania and Turkey. Infected birds have not followed the projected migratory path (Asia to Australia)- rather, they are going west. Many birds have tested positive for the virus, yet appear healthly. This is NOT a good thing at all.