Air New Zealand Flight Struck With Cruise-Ship Bug Norovirus

By Katherine Harmon
(Click here for the original article and podcast)

Holiday travel is a recipe for infection. And recent studies have shown how easily the infamous cruise ship bug, norovirus, can be transmitted on planes.

After a passenger puked on an Air New Zealand flight, crew members tidied up, then clocked out after the plane landed. “Not only did the crew that cleaned up the mess get sick, but on every successive flight at least one or more crew members got sick with typical symptoms of norovirus.” David Freedman, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, at the recent meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

In fact, almost half of all crew members that worked the plane over the next five days picked up the virus. Planes aren’t scrubbed thoroughly between flights, and norovirus can linger on surfaces for days. But “in looking at the typical disinfectants that are used by airlines, none of the routine disinfectants would be considered effective against norovirus.”

So, when traveling, wash your hands often. And keep your fingers crossed.

[Flickr/Wikimedia] photo by ksuyin.

Comments

[Halsey]

09:42 PM on 12/25/2011

Scary yes. But tell ya what. Someone gives me a ticket to New Zealand (and a few nights in a hotel) and I'll take my chances :-). I got lyme here in So. Cal..sat on the one friggin log with an infected tick. Sometimes we have very bad luck....so LIVE! (I am accepting donations).. Cheers!

[flksbutton]

12:10 PM on 12/23/2011

I know WHY they all get sick on cruises and probably the same on overseas flights!! Leaving our cruise on Holland America.....we went back to our stateroom to get a forgotten item....and found the man who cleans washing the glass glasses in plain water in our dirty bathroom sink and drying them with our dirty towels that they had used to clean the entire room. Since we got sick off those same glasses, we know that the ones boarding and using that room next got sick also!!! THAT'S HOW THEY DO IT FOLKS!!!!

[tktuttle]

09:34 AM on 12/23/2011

"After a passenger puked on an Air New Zealand flight…"

The author couldn't have said "threw up" or "vomited"? What's with the casual colloquialisms in professional reporting?

[fergiesmom2]

09:03 AM on 12/23/2011

For some reason, it seems like people don't think WASHING THEIR HANDS is very important anymore. Wake up, folks.....WASH THOSE HANDS....even if you subsititute with the hand cleaner, as soon as you get near water and soap....WASH YOUR HANDS. Keep your hands away from your mouth, nose, eyes.....easy entry areas for germs...The incidence of illness could greatly be reduced if people would JUST WASH THEIR HANDS .

[lifehub]

08:29 AM on 12/23/2011

Washing hands simply doesn't get it anymore.

[fergiesmom2]

09:04 AM on 12/23/2011

They cleaned up vomit.....obviously they didn't get their hands clean.

[lionfight]

08:14 AM on 12/23/2011

Interesting, especially since there are sprays that will kill the virus.....I bet they didn't even use rubber gloves to clean up the mess....let alone having proper disposal....but, there are things to kill the virus that won't harm humans or animals....even though there are those who will say there is nothing available or nothing on the market. Most microbiologists will tell you there is nothing to kill it, only control it...and on the other hand they will get a 5 million dollar grant to study it under university guidance. No remedy will be found until all hands and palms have been greased, oiled and filled to capacity with greenbacks.

[lifehub]

08:30 AM on 12/23/2011

There are no sprays that ki ll a virus. If there were, viruses wouldn't exist.

[wrobbins]

04:51 AM on 12/24/2011

Uh, no. There are a whole lot of sprays that will kill a virus. Household bleach, for example. Viruses exist because we can't bleach the entire world.

[kagu632418]

07:42 AM on 12/23/2011

Just imagine what is being carried from one continent ot another ... And not cleaning thorough between flights is just a crying shame ..

[donnajeanne]

07:11 AM on 12/23/2011

Nothing but a flying petrie dish! Anyone see Contagion?

[sgentilejr]

12:00 AM on 12/23/2011

Come on, Stop complaining already. This is one perk the airlines let you have for free.

[amd2857]

12:48 AM on 12/23/2011

funny lol thanks for the laugh even though it really is not funny. i am just as bad as you for laughing. anyway glad that it wasn't us. that would have made it worse and not funny and we would not be making this comment. happy holidays

[lifehub]

08:30 AM on 12/23/2011

too true!

[OhGetReal]

10:32 PM on 12/22/2011

"Not only do we have to find someone who has flying experience but also didn't have fish for dinner!"

[ungrumpy1]

03:24 AM on 12/23/2011

Ha ha, and they like to watch Gladiator movies.

[Halsey]

09:38 PM on 12/25/2011

I still don't know if Scruff is a boy dog...^--^

[Steve68112]

10:11 PM on 12/22/2011

Well guess what? Some 'bugs' are spread through the air, by person to person contact, or on surfaces, etc. This bug seems to mostly have been spread by contact with contaminated surfaces, which can only mean these people are all dirty people who were not washing their hands properly, frequently enough, and/or with the right soap. If people were not so gross and washed their hands more, and ALWAYS before eating, preparing or handling food for themselves or others, or wiping their faces, for example, the chances of getting or spreading this stuff would go way down. Get with the program, folks!

[amd2857]

12:50 AM on 12/23/2011

fanned and faved for an intellegent post.

[lifehub]

08:35 AM on 12/23/2011

We can wash our hands until the cows come home. The major problem is very poor hygiene habits, that is, people coughing, sneezing, snorting, gagging, etc without covering their mouths with a tissue or handkerchief. That includes scratching, nose-picking, saliva-spreading, touching contaminated and dirty objects, bleeding without a bandaid, et al.

[auntykarebear]

09:44 PM on 12/22/2011

I had this back in 2007 and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I truly don't remember ever feeling so ill in my entire life, and I've been hospitalized, near death, with pneumonia as a child. Best of luck to all who have this--I sympathize!!!

[Dan Crabtree]

09:25 PM on 12/22/2011

Another little bug. courtesy of columbia..

[amd2857]

12:51 AM on 12/23/2011

what is the norovirus and how does it affect you other than vomiting?

[garylinn]

08:29 PM on 12/22/2011

They all tossed their cookies it sounds like to me....YIKES!

[mmbcf]

08:05 PM on 12/22/2011

I look like a freak and wear a mask on an airplane. The mask keeps me from touching my face as people touch there face 20 times an hour unknowingly. I also keep antibacterial gel on me for my hands. Planes and cruise ships are notorious for spreading disease because they recirculate the air we breathe. I was the only person on the flight besides the flight crew that didn't get the flu after a flight from Hong Kong. CDC called me. P.S. SOAP n HOT water for a minimum of 20 seconds.