The ease of international travel has just as well helped the rapid spread of infective disease , and novel research published in the journalBMC Infectious Diseasesshows us just how nasty transportation hubs , such as airdrome , really are .
And what ’s the dirty thing you ’ll touch in the airport ? The plastic surety screening trays at security check areas .
Researchers collected surface and air sampling weekly at three different points in February of 2016 during the efflorescence of the 2015 - 16 influenza time of year at Finland ’s Helsinki - Vantaa airport . Last yr , around 18.9 million passengers travel through its gate , with about 12 percent of them maneuver to or from Eastern , South - Eastern , and Southern Asia .
First , the research worker cautiously mapped the airport to identify airfoil that were most frequently touched and areas where passengers were more likely to gather . Then , swab were gather immediately following the “ bloom hour ” of passenger travel , other morning and mid - good afternoon . These swabs were tested in real - time for influenza A and B viruses , syncytial virus , adenovirus , rhinovirus , and coronaviruses .
Altogether , 90 surface samples and four melody sampling were garner . Nucleic acids from at least one of the respiratory viruses were detected in 10 percentage of surface samples , but here ’s where it get gross : viruses were detected in 67 percentage of swabs take at a tike ’s play area , one-half of all baggage trays at the security system check area , half of the buttons at a pharmacy pay pole , a third of all glass dividers at passport ascendancy points , and 14 percent of swabs taken of step handrails . Most commonly found viruses included rhinovirus ( 40 percent ) , coronavirus ( 30 percentage ) , adenovirus ( 20 percent ) , and influenza A ( 10 percentage ) .
The researchers note the security tray are one of the most contaminated parts of the airport because each traveler is required to go through security showing and because the surety trays are non - poriferous , serve prolong the survival of virus . They say understanding how these pathogens are open around shipping hubs can facilitate inform how to safely protect passengers and staff during peak seasons .
“ Public surface transport has been shown to be affiliate with acute respiratory transmission , accentuate the need to also investigate the purpose of various dealings hub in transmission , including airports , ports , and underground station , ” write the authors .
The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionclassifiedthe 2017 - 18 flu time of year as “ a high austereness time of year ” because of high levels of outpatient clinic and exigency section visit for grippe - like symptoms in the US . For four consecutive months , the death charge per unit for pneumonia and influenza was at an “ epidemic doorstep ” .
