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  • Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

    Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights
    2009-04-28 22:03:08.575 GMT


    By Mary Jane Credeur

    April 28 (Bloomberg) -- The Association of Flight
    Attendants-CWA union asked U.S. regulators for an emergency
    order requiring airlines to provide non-latex gloves and masks
    to crew members on flights to areas affected by the swine flu.


    Attendants with flulike symptoms also should be allowed to
    call in sick without being penalized, the union wrote to the
    Federal Aviation Administration. The AFA represents workers at
    Delta Air Lines Inc.?s Northwest unit and United Airlines.

    Delta, UAL Corp.?s United, AMR Corp.?s American Airlines
    and other carriers said they already provide the health items in
    onboard safety kits, and existing policies allow employees to
    call in sick without any negative consequences.

    The union request is ?pretty routine? for an illness
    outbreak and follows guidelines by the World Health Organization
    and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said
    Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based AFA.

    An FAA spokeswoman in Washington, Laura Brown, didn?t
    immediately return a telephone call after normal business hours.

    American is providing aircraft en route to Mexico with kits
    that have masks, gloves, hand-sanitizing wipes and thermometer
    strips, according to the Association of Professional Flight
    Attendants. Delta already stocks masks and gloves in aircraft
    kits, and US Airways Group Inc. gave crews rubber gloves and
    sanitizer to use while collecting trash onboard.

    For Related News and Information:
    Airline earnings: TNI AIR ERN <GO>
    Airlines and jet fuel: TNI AIR JETFUEL <GO>
    Airlines and mergers: TNI AIR MNA <GO>
    Airlines and swine flu TNI AIR SWINEFLU <GO>

    --With assistance from John Hughes in Washington. Editors: Ed
    Dufner, John Lear

  • #2
    Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

    Local radio here today said Alaska Airlines is currently requiring their employees to use masks and gloves while in Mexico.

    .
    "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

      but to confirm, those types of surgical masks will do absolutely nothing to prevent infection, correct?

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

        We cannot say that with certainty. The cases showing no PB2/627K mutations were in California and Texas. It could be different in Mexico.

        We may learn more when sequences are released from people newly arrived from Mexico. Also, the sequences from Mexican fatalities could be different.

        take you pick - I'd wear a mask if I was flying on an airplane known to be in Mexico.

        .
        "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

          what do PB2/627K genes for human infection have to do with penetration of surgical mask fibers?

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

            My apologies.

            That mutation is what allows the virus to mutate effectively at temperatures found in the human upper respiratory system (nose & throat). It's normally required for human influenzas to spread effectively. So....if it's not spreading through the air and into our respiratory systems, the mask is moot.

            However, there are likely different versions in the various regions, so to be safe from any that may have made the PB2/627 temperature change, it wouldn't hurt to wear a mask. But since some versions don't have that change and are spreading through surface contact (or fecal/oral), washing hands and using alcohol gels is prudent.

            hope that helps.

            .
            "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

              Unless you have a mask with a respirator such as the N95 the particles are so small the mask does not make much a difference. If anything it keep large dropplets of the virus out but not much besides. The surgical masks are more for containment of the virus (to keep other people from spreading it) and psychological purposes.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

                shouldn't these be required on all flights? All it takes is one infected individual and the plane is infected. Do they cycle the air through UV light?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

                  Using any mask at least makes you aware of touching your face, eating, drinking etc.
                  "The only security we have is our ability to adapt."

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

                    Originally posted by hawkeye View Post
                    shouldn't these be required on all flights? All it takes is one infected individual and the plane is infected. Do they cycle the air through UV light?
                    They shold be providing N95 Masks to all on planes.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

                      Originally posted by hawkeye View Post
                      shouldn't these be required on all flights? All it takes is one infected individual and the plane is infected. Do they cycle the air through UV light?
                      Yep, if I remember an old FT post, a study showed that for 1 influenza-infected passenger, if the sat on the runway for only 30 minutes, 75% of the passengers were infected. The key is to hurry up and start flying - the air is processed somehow. That's why you'll always find me at the end of the boarding lines.

                      .
                      "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

                        Originally posted by medstudent55 View Post
                        They shold be providing N95 Masks to all on planes.
                        or at least have them available.

                        Next Question - how long will the global supply last?

                        .
                        "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Attendants Ask FAA to Require Gloves, Masks on Flu-Zone Flights

                          Originally posted by kiwibird View Post
                          Using any mask at least makes you aware of touching your face, eating, drinking etc.
                          I think this - and the same goes for gloves - is their main use. It makes you very aware of what you are doing with your hands. The masks are likely to be helpful if warn by the spreader rather than the uninfected IMO. Seeing many of the spreaders wont know they are spreaders having every everyone wear a mask - or just a scarf over the face - is probably not a bad idea. I would not be aiming for a seal & filter but as a baffle to expelled air, particularly as in coughing, this helps in containing and depositing droplets.
                          Trying to live your life wearing a properly fitted N95 is not practical, unless dealing with the sick, and would be a waste of a precious resource.

                          Comment

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