New Thing to Fear on Planes: MRSA On Your Seatback
You might have some trouble getting on a plane after you read this. But did you know that microbes on a plane can survive a whole week? According to smartplanet.com, "Researchers have found that disease-causing bacteria can linger for several days within an aircraft cabin" That means you're on-board with the flu and the measles and for an unlucky few, even MERS. But there is some good news. "For us to catch bacteria from another traveler through things that we touch, the pathogens must survive environmental conditions in a plane," smartplanet.com reports. Scientists suspended some E.coli and MRSA, the contagious illness hospitals dread because of its easy transference from patient to patient, in a saline solution, then simulated sweat and saliva. Then, to see where these pathogens lived longest, the team placed the suspensions of the two pathogens onto a sample of commonly touched surfaces: rubber armrests, metal toilet handles, plastic tray table...