Swine Flu and What It Means For Travel
30 Apr
Due to the recent media coverage of the Swine Flu, I decided to make that information more useful for you, the traveler. Frequent travelers are usually more affected by disease outbreaks than the majority of the typical population.
Increased exposure to the disease
Due to our nomadic nature, we as travelers have a greatly increased risk of contracting infectious diseases such as the current influenza-based swine flu outbreak when compared to the general populace. While on the go, it is important to stay informed of public health warnings as well as travel advisories. Consult the Center for Disease Control, or the World Health Organization for more current up-to-date information.
Denied Boarding
Airlines have the right to deny travel to anyone, at any time, who show symptoms of an infectious disease. However, most of the time you will need to show serious visible signs of being ill to be denied boarding your flight. With the current health threat posed by the h1n1 virus (swine flu), airlines are taking increased measures to prevent the spread of disease. They are testing thermal scanners to detect higher than usual body temperatures in order to prevent passengers with the flu from spreading the disease. On the first onset of a fever, most people will take some ibuprofen or advil which will reduce the severity of their symptoms. This prevents the scanner from working properly. By no means am I advocating using a fever blocker to slip by security. If you are beginning to have flu-like symptoms it is recommended to have a check up before you travel, especially if you flying from a high risk area.
Closed Borders
A possibility of a global pandemic is governments beginning to close their borders in order to prevent spread of the infectious disease. This is so far unlikely at the time of this writing but it is still a possibility. Travelers should be prepared for the risk of being prevented from returning home, or contained in a high risk area. Your best bet in this situation is to head to your countries embassy for more information and steps you can take.
Quarantine
You may find yourself under quarantine if the flight you are on has a suspected case of the Virus. Some airports screen arriving passengers and can detain you if you are showing symptoms. Quarantine procedures can range from a few days (if the tests return negative) to much longer if the results are positive or there is a backlog in testing.
Aftermath
The travel industry is already struggling due to the global recession. If the H1N1 virus continues to spread to pandemic levels, this will greatly affect the industry even further. Due to all these flight and hotel cancellations I would expect a lot more bargains and incentives to travel.
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