3 ms·

If you were on a plane coming back from Europe and the guy in the seat next to you said he was just coming back from spending a year in Liberia, what would you

If you were on a plane coming back from Europe and the guy in the seat next to you said he was just coming back from spending a year in Liberia, what would you do? Would you sit there and just make sure he didn't spit on you? Or would you go sit in the bathroom for the flight? Curious as to how people would react...

crimsonalucard 12y ago
Well it depends on whether that guy has Ebola or not.
giarc 12y ago
As stated by the director of the CDC in the press conference, all air passengers departing the affected countries are screened for fever. Fever is most often the first symptoms present, and therefore you can logically believe that if the passenger left Liberia and is on a plane, he does not have Ebola (or is not symptomatic for Ebola). Therefore I would be fine sitting beside him.
- kenjackson 12y ago
  Europe isn't an affected area. No one on my flight from London was checked. It certainly wouldn't be hard to get from Liberia to Europe with no fever, and then board a plane with fever and sweats.
  - giarc 12y ago
    I can speak to the Canadian process. Public Health Agency of Canada is stationed at all major airports and screen passengers that trips originate in an affected country. We had a suspect patient that had arrived from Germany that begin in Nigeria. Due to the routing, they were screened here when they landed in Canada. Theoretically someone could fly from an affected country to Europe. Spend a few days and book another trip to North America and not be screened. However triage process in hospitals is that patients with fever greater than 38.6C are asked if they have spent any time in an Ebola affected country within the past 21 days (high end of incubation period).
tjohns 12y ago
First, somebody from Liberia probably isn't infected. As bad as things are over there, it's still <1% of the population. (For now.) Second, if they're well enough to be on the plane, even if they're infected, they're probably not going to be spreading that infection. By the time an ebola patient becomes contagious, they're usually not well enough to travel. And on top of all that, if they're actually contagious, I'd be worried about fomites generated while they're vomiting. Which they'd be doing in the lavatory. So in the general case, I don't think I'd be too worried about sitting next to them. (And if they're actually sick enough to be vomiting, I'd recommend being somewhere other than the lavatory.)

crimsonalucard 12y ago

Well it depends on whether that guy has Ebola or not.

giarc 12y ago

As stated by the director of the CDC in the press conference, all air passengers departing the affected countries are screened for fever. Fever is most often the first symptoms present, and therefore you can logically believe that if the passenger left Liberia and is on a plane, he does not have Ebola (or is not symptomatic for Ebola). Therefore I would be fine sitting beside him.

kenjackson 12y ago
Europe isn't an affected area. No one on my flight from London was checked. It certainly wouldn't be hard to get from Liberia to Europe with no fever, and then board a plane with fever and sweats.
- giarc 12y ago
  I can speak to the Canadian process. Public Health Agency of Canada is stationed at all major airports and screen passengers that trips originate in an affected country. We had a suspect patient that had arrived from Germany that begin in Nigeria. Due to the routing, they were screened here when they landed in Canada. Theoretically someone could fly from an affected country to Europe. Spend a few days and book another trip to North America and not be screened. However triage process in hospitals is that patients with fever greater than 38.6C are asked if they have spent any time in an Ebola affected country within the past 21 days (high end of incubation period).

tjohns 12y ago

First, somebody from Liberia probably isn't infected. As bad as things are over there, it's still <1% of the population. (For now.) Second, if they're well enough to be on the plane, even if they're infected, they're probably not going to be spreading that infection. By the time an ebola patient becomes contagious, they're usually not well enough to travel. And on top of all that, if they're actually contagious, I'd be worried about fomites generated while they're vomiting. Which they'd be doing in the lavatory. So in the general case, I don't think I'd be too worried about sitting next to them. (And if they're actually sick enough to be vomiting, I'd recommend being somewhere other than the lavatory.)