Post 9/11 Drop In Air Travel Delayed Flu Spread

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Main Category: Flu / Cold / SARS
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 12 Sep 2006 - 12:00 PDT


After the terrorists attacks of 9/11, when air travel dropped dramatically in the USA, the rate of spread of winter flu was delayed by two weeks, say researchers from Children's Hospital of Boston, USA.

You can read about this study in PLoS Medicine.

Team leader, John Brownstein, said "This is the first time that a study has been able to show a direct link between the numbers of people traveling and the rate of spread of a virus."

The researchers looked at public records of flu and pneumonia deaths during 1996 - 2005. During the years 1996 to 2000 deaths due to flu peaked at around February 17th. However, in the winer that followed 9/11, deaths from flu peaked at around March 2.

This study does not necessarily prove that restricting air travel always delays the spread and consequent peaking of flu-related deaths. it just points out what happened on one occasion. Scientists also noted that total flu-related deaths during the winter following 9/11 were no lower than other years.

"Empirical Evidence for the Effect of Airline Travel on Inter-Regional Influenza Spread in the United States"
John S. Brownstein, Cecily J. Wolfe, Kenneth D. Mandl
PLoS Volume 3 | Issue 10 | OCTOBER 2006
Click Here To See Article

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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