If you have ever travelled by airplane to a destination when it seemed that the entire plane was full of people who were sneezing and coughing, you were probably quite concerned about catching the latest bug going around.

Harvard Researchers Investigate Influenza

And rightfully so, say researchers J.S. Brownstein, C.J. Wolfe, and K.D. Mandl from the Children's Hospital Informatics Program at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology in Boston. They reported in the Sept 2006 PLoS Med. Journal that the speed of recent flu epidemics can be tied directly to air travel.

Many people already know that the problem with air travel may be in recirculating air throughout the cabin. Virus particles love a nice warm temperature, and with plenty of warm bodies generating heat on a long airplane trip, it is easy for virus particles to multiply rapidly. Planes without an air filtration system in place are most at risk. You have a greater chance of traveling on a plane without an air filtration system if that plane is an old relic, or one that is older than about 10 years old.

Measuring the rate of spread of the flu virus and its timing in the United States for nine seasons between 1996 and 2005, the researchers found that domestic airline travel volume in November, mostly surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday, predicted the rate of influenza spread. The more people who traveled by air, the faster the virus spread.

They also found that international airline travel influences the timing of influenza mortality. (Mortality means deaths.)

After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, the flight ban in the U.S. and the subsequent depression of the air travel market provided a natural experiment for the evaluation of flight restrictions. The decrease in air travel was associated with a longer amount of time for the influenza virus to hit the U.S. but once the virus hit, it seemed to prolong the amount of time the virus lingered.

The researchers suggested that if a pandemic, a world-wide virus epidemic, is expected,it may be a good idea to restrict travel temporarily. Let's hope that they don't resort to that and create other means to control influenza virus.

What You Can Do Now Before You Travel

In the meantime, boost your own immune system with food remedies from your grocery store such as onions, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, and green and red peppers. A little extra spinach certainly won't hurt, either. Remember that the stronger your immune system is to ward off infections, the greater your chance of not catching colds and the flu.

I spent many years researching dozens of natural remedies that can stop the cold and flu virus dead in its tracks. If you'd like more info on this, email me.