I have a teeny problem with this gal from Iowa. She knew she was being tested for an infectious disease, and almost certainly knew it would take several days to get the test results (not uncommon with mumps testing. So, she went all these places and exposed all these people, knowingly?? You can't help exposing people before you are aware that you have something. You don't have to expose the rest of the world once you know there's a good possibility that you're contagious.
Smoke is an irritant, so as long as they allowed smoking on board, they had to exchange the air.
Exchanging the air required fuel.
They tried non-smoking flights, but no one would fly on them - so they lobbied for a federal law to make all flights non-smoking.
No smoke, no air exchange.
No air exchange, the airlines save fuel (and money).
No air exchange, and one passanger with ebola means everyone on the flight will have it, by the time you land.
Sort of like mumps.
Only, most of us are vaccinated against mumps...
Last I saw the fraction of those with mumps who'd been vaccinated had been higher than this. However, since Iowa now has more cases of mumps than the whole country has had for awhile I hope the CDC does some good epidemiology on this. I've heard rumors that an alas popular, double alas locally invented "health care" "profession" had been telling parents NOT to get their children vaccinated and supporting their exemptions from the usual school requirements. I'm in the wrong medical specialty to know whether the rumors are true, or to judge how commonly such, IMHO stupid, advice is followed. But if the rumors are true they could explain why we are having such an epidemic in Iowa. The political lobby in Iowa for those rumored is quite powerful so I'd prefer the CDC to investigate so as to have a better chance that the politically incorrect questions get asked and tallied. From what I've read so far this outbreak doesn't seem to be centered on our low tech religious areas like the Amanas so I doubt traditional religious exemptions have contributed much to it.
"She said two of her fellow travelers have told her they have mumps-like symptoms, but have declined to see a doctor about it."
But of course they self-diagnose themselves. Now they'll spread it all over.
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Except when the disease arrive by "coyote" !