搭乘飛機時如何遠離感冒?

It's a common complaint: Fly on a crowded plane and come home with a cold. What's in the air up there?

經常有這樣的抱怨：搭乘了一班擁擠的飛機，回到家就感冒了。機艙的空氣中究竟充滿了什麼？

Air travelers suffer higher rates of disease infection, research has shown. One study pegged the increased risk for catching a cold as high as 20%. And the holidays are a particularly infectious time of year, with planes packed full of families with all their presents and all those germs.

研究表明，航空旅客感染疾病的比率比一般人要高。某項研究更是顯示，航空旅客染上感冒的風險較一般人高出了20%之多。尤其是各種假期，往往成爲一年當中最容易被傳染疾病的時間段，飛機上到處是舉家出遊的人們，而與他們同行的，還有各種各樣的病菌。

Air that is recirculated throughout the cabin is most often blamed. But studies have shown that high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters on most jets today can capture 99.97% of bacterial and virus-carrying particles. That said, when air circulation is shut down, which sometimes happens during long waits on the ground or for short periods when passengers are boarding or exiting, infections can spread like wildfire.

最常遭到詬病的是空氣在機艙內的循環流動。但研究表明，如今大部分飛機上的高效微粒空氣過濾器能夠濾掉99.97%的細菌和病毒微粒。然而，當空氣不流通時，例如飛機在地面等候時間過長時或者乘客上下機的時間，細菌和病毒就可能像瘟疫一樣快速散播。

One well-known study in 1979 found that when a plane sat three hours with its engines off and no air circulating, 72% of the 54 people on board got sick within two days. The flu strain they had was traced to one passenger. For that reason, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an advisory in 2003 to airlines saying that passengers should be removed from planes within 30 minutes if there's no air circulation, but compliance isn't mandatory.

Jason Schneider安檢區域可能會讓人感覺不適。等待安檢的隊伍中充滿了咳嗽和打噴嚏的聲音；乘客的鞋子脫掉後與其它隨身物品一起被放在塑料箱裏，而這些塑料箱經過掃描儀後一般並不會得到清潔。1979年進行的一項廣爲傳播的研究發現，在熄火且無空氣流通的飛機上連續坐三個小時後，54名乘客中有72%的人在兩天內病倒了。在其中一名乘客身上，研究人員發現了導致其他乘客病倒的流感病毒株。鑑於此，2003年，美國聯邦航空管理局(Federal Aviation Administration)向航空公司發出一個通告，提出在機艙空氣不流通的情況下，乘客應當在30分鐘內得到轉移。但該通告並不具有強制性。

Much of the danger comes from the mouths, noses and hands of passengers sitting nearby. The hot zone for exposure is generally two seats beside, in front of and behind you, according to a study in July in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

很大一部分傳染風險來自鄰座乘客的口、鼻和手。美國疾病控制與預防中心(U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)主辦的雜誌《新發傳染病》(Emerging Infectious Diseases)刊登的一項在7月份進行的研究顯示，在飛機上最容易傳染疾病的高危險區域一般是你旁邊、前面及後面的兩個座位。

A number of factors increase the odds of bringing home a souvenir cough and runny nose. For one, the environment at 30,000 feet enables easier spread of disease. Air in airplanes is extremely dry, and viruses tend to thrive in low-humidity conditions. When mucous membranes dry out, they are far less effective at blocking infection. High altitudes can tire the body, and fatigue plays a role in making people more susceptible to catching colds, too.

一些客觀事實也增大了航空旅客下飛機後染上咳嗽和流鼻涕症狀的風險。例如，距離地面三萬英尺的高度令病菌更容易傳播。機艙內空氣極其乾燥，病毒在低溼環境下更容易存活。而當粘膜過干時，阻隔病菌的能力就會大大減弱。高海拔也容易令人體感到疲倦，因此使人更容易受到感冒的侵襲。

Also, viruses and bacteria can live for hours on some surfaces岸some viral particles have been found to be active up to a day in certain places. Tray tables can be contaminated, and seat-back pockets, which get stuffed with used tissues, soiled napkins and trash, can be particularly skuzzy. It's also difficult to know what germs are lurking in an airline's pillows and blankets.

此外，病毒和細菌在某些物體的表面能夠存活長達數小時──據發現，一些病毒微粒在某些地方的存活時間甚至長達一整天。摺疊餐桌就可能被污染，座椅靠背上的袋子裝滿了用過的紙巾、髒餐布和各種垃圾，更容易藏污納垢。還有飛機上提供的枕頭和毯子，也很難知道有哪些病菌藏在上面。

Research has shown how easily disease can spread. Tracing influenza transmission on long-haul flights in 2009 with passengers infected with the H1N1 flu strain, Australian researchers found that 2% passengers had the disease during the flight and 5% came down within a week after landing. Coach-cabin passengers were at a 3.6% increased risk of contracting H1N1 if they sat within two rows of someone who had symptoms in-flight. That increased risk for post-flight disease doubled to 7.7% for passengers seated in a two-seat hot zone.

研究告訴我們，疾病很容易傳播。2009年，一些澳大利亞研究人員追蹤了感染H1N1流感病毒的乘客在長途飛機上的流感傳播過程，他們發現，在乘坐同一航班的乘客中原本只有2%是病患，但結束飛行後的一週內有5%的乘客生了病。對於普通艙的乘客而言，如果距離其兩排以內的某位乘客在飛行途中已有H1N1流感症狀，那麼該乘客感染H1N1流感病毒的風險將增加3.6%。而如果是前後兩個座位之間的高危險區域，那麼這種下機後染病的風險還會增加一倍多，達到7.7%。

The epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002-03 suggested a wider exposure zone, however. On one flight studied, one passenger spread a particular strain to someone seated seven rows away, while people seated next to the ill passenger didn't contract the disease.

不過，2002-2003年流行的嚴重急性呼吸系統綜合症(SARS)似乎具有更廣的傳播能力。在一個接受研究的航班上，一名乘客將其攜帶的某種病毒株傳染到了與其相隔七排座位之遠的另一名乘客身上，而緊鄰該患病乘客而坐的幾位乘客卻沒被染上這種病毒。

That said, most people sitting near someone who is ill probably won't get sick. 'When you get aboard an aircraft, most of us don't have a say on who we sit next to. But that doesn't doom you to catching the flu,' said Mark Gendreau of Boston's Lahey Clinic Medical Center.

波士頓萊黑臨牀醫學中心(Lahey Clinic Medical Center)的馬克•讓德羅(Mark Gendreau)表示，大部分座位靠近患病乘客的人可能並不會生病。他稱，大部分人在乘坐飛機時，都不會跟鄰座的陌生人交談。（與患病乘客）坐得近並不意味着你就會染上流感。

In 2005, he was part of a team that published a paper in the Lancet that concluded the perceived risk for travelers was higher than the actual risk, and that's still the case today, he said.

2005年，讓德羅參加的一個研究小組在《柳葉刀》雜誌(The Lancet)上發表了一篇論文，指出乘客被傳染疾病的實際風險並沒有人們所以爲的那麼高。讓德羅表示，現在情況依然如此。Even so, there are some basic precautions passengers can take to keep coughs away.

儘管如此，航空旅客還是應該採取一些基本的預防措施，讓感冒遠離自己。

Hydrate. Drinking water and keeping nasal passages moist with a saline spray can reduce your risk of infection.

補水。多喝水，使用鹽水噴霧劑，讓鼻腔保持溼潤，可減少被傳染的風險。

Clean your hands frequently with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. We often infect ourselves, touching mouth, nose or eyes with our own hands that have picked up something.

勤洗手。用含酒精的洗手液勤加洗手，我們常常是用拿過東西的手接觸自己的嘴巴、鼻子或眼睛後，傳染了病毒。

Use a disinfecting wipe to clean off tray tables before using.

在使用摺疊餐桌前，先用消毒溼巾徹底清潔一遍。

Avoid seat-back pockets.

儘量不要使用座椅後背的口袋。

Open your air vent, and aim it so it passes just in front of your face. Filtered airplane air can help direct airborne contagions away from you.

打開座位上方的通風孔，調整風向，讓風從你面前吹過。過濾後的機艙空氣有助於將潛在傳染源吹到別處。

Change seats if you end up near a cougher, sneezer or someone who looks feverish. That may not be possible on very full flights, but worth a try. One sneeze can produce up to 30,000 droplets that can be propelled as far as six feet.

如果你的座位附近有人咳嗽、打噴嚏或看起來像是在發燒，最好換個座位。當然，要是機艙已經坐滿了人，換位置可能不太容易，但還是值得一試。一個噴嚏可能打到六英尺開外，裏面含有約三萬個細菌。

Raise concerns with the crew if air circulation is shut off for an extended period.

如果機艙內空氣長時間不流通，可以向機組人員提出你的顧慮。

Avoid airline pillows and blankets (if you find them).

避免接觸機上的枕頭和毯子（如果有的話）。

"If you take the proper precautions, you should do quite well,' said Dr. Gendreau. 'In most of us, our immune system does what it was designed to do protect us from infectious insults."

讓德羅表示，只要採取適當的預防措施，就能夠起到很好的效果。對於我們大多數人來說，自身的免疫系統能夠發揮應有的作用──將傳染性病毒拒之門外。

Hidden Dangers in Security

安檢處的傳染隱患

You think the plane is bad? Security checkpoints harbor a host of hazards as well, researchers say.

你覺得飛機上很糟糕？研究人員發現，其實安檢處也好不到哪裏去。

People get bunched up in lines, where there is plenty of coughing and sneezing. Shoes are removed and placed with other belongings into plastic security bins, which typically don't get cleaned after they go through the scanner.

人們一個挨着一個地排隊等候安檢，隊伍中充滿了咳嗽和打噴嚏的聲音。鞋子脫掉後與其它隨身物品一起被放在塑料箱裏，這些塑料箱經過掃描儀後一般並不會得到清潔。

A National Academy of Sciences panel is six months into a two-year study that is taking samples at airport areas to try to pinpoint opportunities for infection.

美國國家科學院(National Academy of Sciences)的專家小組展開了一項爲期兩年的研究，旨在通過對機場各處區域進行採樣分析，以精確定位傳染風險。目前此項研究已經開展了六個月。

With limited resources, airports and airlines have asked researchers to help figure out where best to target prevention, said Dr. Mark Gendreau of Boston's Lahey Clinic Medical Center who is on the panel.

讓德羅是這個專家小組的一名成員。他表示，由於資源有限，機場和航空公司已經向研究人員尋求幫助，以找出哪些區域最應當採取防範措施。

Check-in kiosks and baggage areas are other prime suspects in addition to security lines, he said.

他補充道，除了安檢通道，登機亭和行李處也是最受懷疑的高危區域。