如何避免在飞机上生病:避免病原体的指南

如何避免在飞机上生病:避免病原体的指南

It's the season for colds and flus — and a newly identified respiratory disease, COVID-19.

现在是感冒和流感的季节，还有一种新发现的呼吸道疾病，COVID-19.

To cut your risk of catching a respiratory illness on your next flight, experts offer two pieces of common-sense advice: Wash your hands frequently and keep a distance from people who are sick.

为了降低你在下一次航班上感染呼吸道疾病的风险，专家们提供了两条常识建议：勤洗手，并与生病的人保持距离。

Where to sit to prevent getting sick

坐在哪里以防生病?

A 2018 study suggests that to minimize contact with other passengers, you should pick a window seat and stay put.

2018年的一项研究建议，为了最大限度地减少与其他乘客的接触，你应该选择一个靠窗的座位，呆在原地不动。

Vicki Hertzberg, a biostatistician at Emory University, co-led the study on flights and disease transmission with scientists at Boeing.

埃默里大学生物统计学家维基·赫茨伯格与波音公司的科学家共同领导了这项关于飞行和疾病传播的研究。

"The window seats are a little less risky than the aisle seats," Hertzberg says.

“靠窗的座位比靠过道的座位风险要小一些，”赫茨伯格说。

Statistically, people in window seats come into contact with fewer passengers because they leave their seats less often than those sitting near the aisle. And they are a few more feet from the action in the aisle, where passersby could be coughing, sneezing and spreading germs.

据统计，坐在靠窗座位的人接触到的乘客较少，因为他们离开座位的次数比坐在过道附近的人少。他们离过道里的活动地点还有几英尺，那里的路人可能正在咳嗽、打喷嚏和传播细菌。

Though really, the best place to sit is away from any passenger who's coughing or sneezing.

不过说真的，最好的座位是远离任何咳嗽或打喷嚏的乘客。

The size of the "transmission zone" depends on the specific pathogen and how it transmits.

“传播区”的大小取决于特定的病原体及其传播方式。

For instance, there's a chance you could catch tuberculosis when you sit within two rows of someone infected with TB and the flight is longer than eight hours.

例如，当你坐在距离感染结核病的人不到两排的地方，并且飞行时间超过8小时时，你就有可能感染结核病。

How to prevent others from getting sick

如何防止他人生病

If you're sick with a respiratory illness, wearing a mask and opening the overhead vent could help prevent transmission.

如果你患有呼吸系统疾病，戴上口罩并打开头顶的通风口可以帮助防止传播。

"When you cough or sneeze, you're ejecting fine particles," Hertzberg says. "Other people near you can inhale them.."

赫茨伯格说：“当你咳嗽或打喷嚏时，你会喷出细小的颗粒。”“你身边的其他人可以吸入它们。”

Masks, she says, should be worn by people who are infectious to catch droplets from their noses and mouths. If you don't have a mask, the World Health Organization recommends covering coughs and sneezes with tissues or flexed elbows.

她说，有传染性的人应该戴上口罩，以捕捉他们鼻子和嘴里的飞沫。如果你没有戴口罩，世界卫生组织建议用纸巾或弯曲的肘部遮盖咳嗽和打喷嚏。

Even though you probably won't get sick from the plane, there are additional precautions you can take.

即使你在飞机上可能不会生病，你也可以采取额外的预防措施。

Really, Hertzberg says, the risk of getting a respiratory infection from a plane is low. "There are very few reports of infectious disease being transmitted on airplanes," she says.

赫茨伯格说，真的，从飞机上感染呼吸道感染的风险很低。“很少有传染病在飞机上传播的报告，”她说。

In the course of her research, Hertzberg's team took more than 200 environmental swabs on 10 transcontinental U.S. flights and didn't find a single respiratory virus in the sample (though there was plenty of bacteria).

在她的研究过程中，赫茨伯格的团队在10架美国横贯大陆的航班上采集了200多份环境样本，在样本中没有发现一种呼吸道病毒(尽管有大量细菌)。

The air on planes is cleaned with high-efficiency filters, and the circulation system constantly brings in fresh air. "In some aspects, the air on a plane is cleaner than what's going on in your office buildings," Hertzberg says.

飞机上的空气由高效过滤器净化，循环系统不断带来新鲜空气。“在某些方面，飞机上的空气比办公楼里的要干净，”赫茨伯格说。

And there are behaviors that can substantially reduce your risk of catching anything.

有些行为可以大大降低你感染任何疾病的风险。

First, drink lots of water — especially on longer flights. In-flight air has low humidity, and it dries out the mucous membranes in the nose, making them less protective against infections, says Dr. Mark Gendreau, chief medical officer at Beverly Hospital.

首先，多喝水--尤其是在长途飞行中。贝弗利医院首席医疗官马克·根德罗博士说，飞机上的空气湿度低，会使鼻子里的粘膜变得干燥，使它们对感染的保护作用减弱。

Second, keep your hands microbe-free. "When you look at most infectious diseases, the overwhelming majority are transmitted when you touch a contaminated surface," Gendreau says. "You grab the doorknob of the airplane bathroom and then touch your eyes, nose or mouth."

第二，保持你的手没有微生物。根德罗说：“当你观察大多数传染病时，绝大多数都是当你接触受污染的表面时传播的。”“你抓住飞机洗手间的门把手，然后触摸你的眼睛、鼻子或嘴巴。”