Disease-Causing Bacteria Can Linger in an Airplane Cabin for Days

Next time you take a trip on an airplane, you may want to be careful about what you touch. Scientists have found that disease-causing bacteria can linger on surfaces commonly found in airplane cabins for days, even up to a week.

"Many air travelers are concerned about the risks of catching a disease from other passengers given the long time spent in crowded air cabins," said Kiril Vaglenov, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This report describes the results of our first step in investigating this potential problem.

In order to examine how likely it would be for bacteria to linger, the researchers took a look at two different pathogens: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and E. coli. They examined the bacteria's ability to survive on surfaces commonly found in airplanes; the researchers used six different types of material commonly found in airplanes and then inoculated these materials with the bacteria. Then, they exposed the materials to typical airplane conditions.

It turns out that MRSA lasted the longest at 168 hours on material from a seat-back pocket. It was followed by E. coli, which survived the longest on material from the armrest for 96 hours.

"Our data show that both of these bacteria can survive for days on the selected types of surfaces independent of the type of simulated body fluid present, and those pose a risk of transmission via skin contact," said Vaglenov in a news release. "Our future plans include the exploration of effective cleaning and disinfection strategies, as well as testing surfaces that have natural antimicrobial properties to determine whether these surfaces can help reduce the persistence of disease-causing bacteria in the passenger aircraft cabin."

The findings are important for keeping airlines clean. Since people spend hours aboard a plane, learning the best methods to remove bacteria is crucial for public health.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.