[snips]
For example, Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) now replaces used pillows, blankets, headset covers and headrest covers, spokeswoman Carolyn Leung said.
China Southern Airlines (600029.SS) has been disinfecting the cabins of all aircraft. China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS) flight attendants are required to wear disposable facial masks, gloves and hats and even disposable overcoats during flights to select destinations.
Mexicana Airlines uses high-efficiency filters that can trap small particles that would normally recirculate back into the air, spokesman Adolfo Crespo said.
In contrast to the measures taken by Asian airlines, U.S. carriers have simply continued safety standards already in place, relying on the advice of authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Atlanta-based CDC has not recommended that airline crews wear face masks or disposable overcoats.
"The issue with H1N1 and airlines is an issue of translocation, not necessarily on-board transmission," Shelly Sikes Diaz, a CDC spokeswoman, said in an email. She added that people were no more likely to catch the flu on a two-hour plane flight than they were sitting next to someone for a two-hour movie.
"Therefore, at this time, recommended on-board infection control measures would be similar to community infection control measures" such as frequent hand-washing, Diaz added.
Julian Tang, a consultant for the microbiology division at National University Hospital in Singapore, also said hygiene practices such as covering the nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing in confined areas may be the best way to limit infection.
He said safety measures such as costly air filters may be of limited use for carriers.
"This is because most of the transmission between passengers probably mostly occurs just after the sneeze/cough in the immediate vicinity of the passenger rather than after it flows through the ventilation/circulation system and back out again," he said. (Additional reporting by Ee Lyn Tan and Sui-Lee Wee in Hong Kong, Neil Chatterjee in Singapore and Fang Yan in Shanghai; editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
http://www.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUSN27536654
For example, Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) now replaces used pillows, blankets, headset covers and headrest covers, spokeswoman Carolyn Leung said.
China Southern Airlines (600029.SS) has been disinfecting the cabins of all aircraft. China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS) flight attendants are required to wear disposable facial masks, gloves and hats and even disposable overcoats during flights to select destinations.
Mexicana Airlines uses high-efficiency filters that can trap small particles that would normally recirculate back into the air, spokesman Adolfo Crespo said.
In contrast to the measures taken by Asian airlines, U.S. carriers have simply continued safety standards already in place, relying on the advice of authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Atlanta-based CDC has not recommended that airline crews wear face masks or disposable overcoats.
"The issue with H1N1 and airlines is an issue of translocation, not necessarily on-board transmission," Shelly Sikes Diaz, a CDC spokeswoman, said in an email. She added that people were no more likely to catch the flu on a two-hour plane flight than they were sitting next to someone for a two-hour movie.
"Therefore, at this time, recommended on-board infection control measures would be similar to community infection control measures" such as frequent hand-washing, Diaz added.
Julian Tang, a consultant for the microbiology division at National University Hospital in Singapore, also said hygiene practices such as covering the nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing in confined areas may be the best way to limit infection.
He said safety measures such as costly air filters may be of limited use for carriers.
"This is because most of the transmission between passengers probably mostly occurs just after the sneeze/cough in the immediate vicinity of the passenger rather than after it flows through the ventilation/circulation system and back out again," he said. (Additional reporting by Ee Lyn Tan and Sui-Lee Wee in Hong Kong, Neil Chatterjee in Singapore and Fang Yan in Shanghai; editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
http://www.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUSN27536654