Disease and air travel

John Crawley:

U.S. government health agencies are strengthening ties to airlines and aviation regulators to guard against the spread of infectious diseases or other deadly agents aboard commercial aircraft, federal officials said on Wednesday.

"With the potential of dramatic economic losses caused either by viruses or terrorists with viruses, a proactive posture rather than a reactive posture is an absolute necessity," said Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican and chairman of the House aviation subcommittee.

"With over 1.6 billion passengers traveling worldwide each year on commercial air carriers, there is a real threat that these sometimes deadly diseases can be transmitted around the world in a matter of hours," Mica told a hearing attended by government health and aviation experts.

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus in 2002 and 2003 killed more than 700 people in two dozen countries. It limited airline service to Asia where it first occurred and frightened off many international travelers.

Of particular concern now is the outbreak of avian influenza or "bird flu" that has killed 50 people, also in Asia, since 2003. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a more contagious form and unleash a global pandemic.

In the news:

Delta Shares Flier Data in Health Effort