After writing my, “A day in the life of a microbe,” essay; on the common cold found in airplanes. I decided to expand my search on what other microbes can be found on airplanes.
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| A flight attendant sprays disinfectant onboard |
Many of us don’t even think about how dirty planes are. In your seat alone you can find, influenza A, B, and C viruses. This is also known as the flu and it is linked to between 3,000 and 49,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations each year in the United States alone. In the trays that many people eat off of, you can find MRSA, which is deadly superbug! (People eat off this) The MRSA is a flesh eating bacterium that is very hard to cure and is really resistant.
You know that very yummy food you had on the airplane? Well it turns out it might have Listeria, a microbe known to cause gastrointestinal illness and meningitis. In 2009, the meals made headlines when the FDA inspected the world's largest airplane carriers; American Airlines, Delta and United. They found the kitchens crawling with roaches too numerous to count and employees handling the food with bare hands or unwashed gloves. (Yum!) Another thing to be careful for is the water. In 2004, a random sampling of 327 unnamed domestic and international aircraft caused a stir when some water samples tested positive for E. coli.
When your getting sleepy and your flight attendant offers you a pillow or a blanket; think twice before you say yes. These blankets and pillows have been used by other passengers who where also sleepy and tired in previous flights. In 2007 an investigation by The Wall Street Journal revealed that airlines cleaned their blankets every 5 to 30 days. Germs like Aspergillus niger can be found; these germs can cause pneumonia and infections like, lung and eye infections.
Next time think twice before using airplane resources; if possible bring your own water, snacks, blankets, etc. Alway remember to wash your hands to avoid getting sick and try not to touch everything.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/12/22/bt.germs.breed.on.plane/
This is why I don't like traveling in general! Just kidding, but airlines need to be aware of this and start doing something about it. What if some harmful or unknown disease that can only be found in some countries comes on board a plane? Or even a boat or car? This disease will be introduced to new hosts and start spreading. Worse case scenario is that we won't be able to cure this disease and starts spreading everywhere just because it came from a plane. Some airlines, such as South West, are making it mandatory that flight attendants wash their hands before and after serving snacks and drinks. They should put this rule for international flights.
ReplyDeleteIf I was asked to think about how clean an airplane is, I would answer with a simple, yes, I think they are clean. Yet your blog made truly think about the possibility that planes can be very dirty. This whole article does not need much evidence just because it is very logical. Planes do travel internationally and don’t get cleaned till later on at night when the plane would not be used for the rest of the day. That is a lot of germs and microbes that can form and if the cleaning process is not that great it could still be dirty for the next day and so forth. This is a good article to use for a commercial or even put on the news and make airports aware of this and increase their cleaning habits an take great precautions to have their planes clean for the next boarding process.
ReplyDeleteThats really disgusting, good thing I don't ever travel. If you do think about it the pillows and materials they give you, do you really think they take the time to wash em clean of every bacteria, the strenuous dry cleaning that cost serious money? This article makes me really think how amazing viruses and bacteria can travel continents and we are the carriers. This is how things have spread it reminds me of one of those horror flicks like outbreak. Having to wipe out civilizations just to kill of a super-bug willing to kill as many if not more than the horrible Black death.
ReplyDeleteThis totally fascinates me, but really makes me think twice about how I act on a plane and what I ask for. Airplane attendants and staff really need to clean and sanitize their area. If you really think about it, the amount of germs on a plane is probably just like the amount in a hospital. People touch everything, everywhere, with no second thought. It's not really our faults either, we pay ALOT to fly, and we should be allowed to touch what we want, sleep with as many blankets and pillows provided without running the risk of getting sick. Unfortunately thats not the world we live in. Maybe they need to hire someone to do the cleaning, and a good job of it too.
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