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Planning to take a nice far far away vacation? Maybe an airplane is not the best traveling option. With the constant flow of passengers, bacteria tend to accumulate in certain spots within the aircraft. Research acknowledged by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), shows that airplanes can carry pathogens such as Escherichia coli 0157 (E. coli) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Both leading scientist, Dr. Vaglenov and Dr. Barbee from the Auburn University conducted this experiment by replicating the environment of an airplane cabin. These scientist obtained cabin fixtures such as armrests and seat pockets, and also replicated the temperature and humidity inside the cabin. Next, they sterilized and intentionally infected the surfaces of the fixtures with common human pathogens such as E. coli and MRSA in order to mirror the pathogens introduced by human exposure. The results showed that longest living pathogen inside the cabin happens to be MRSA, with a whopping eight days of survival inside of the seat pockets. The seat pockets happens to be the perfect breeding ground from this bacterium; thus, the scientists recommend for the passengers to wash their hands before and after boarding the aircraft.
Both leading scientist, Dr. Vaglenov and Dr. Barbee from the Auburn University conducted this experiment by replicating the environment of an airplane cabin. These scientist obtained cabin fixtures such as armrests and seat pockets, and also replicated the temperature and humidity inside the cabin. Next, they sterilized and intentionally infected the surfaces of the fixtures with common human pathogens such as E. coli and MRSA in order to mirror the pathogens introduced by human exposure. The results showed that longest living pathogen inside the cabin happens to be MRSA, with a whopping eight days of survival inside of the seat pockets. The seat pockets happens to be the perfect breeding ground from this bacterium; thus, the scientists recommend for the passengers to wash their hands before and after boarding the aircraft.
Original Source:
American Society for Microbiology. (2014, May 20). Where Pathogens Can Linger on Airplanes. [Video File]. Retrieved from http://gm.asm.org/index.php/scientific-activities/asm-live/archives/571-asm-gm-2014-where-pathogens-can-linger-on-airplanes.
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