Speed of the Spread of Flu is Linked to Airline Travel

Speed of the Spread of Flu is Linked to Airline Travel

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/health/12flu.html

Scientists believe that the amount of airline travel is directly related to the amount of people who are affected by the influenza virus. Influenza is a pandemic that affects millions of people a year. A study was done to determine the correlations between the numbers of influenza cases each year around the peak season from 1996 to 2005. “They found that changes in the rate of spread and the timing of peak mortality each year correlated with yearly fluctuations in monthly airline passenger volume.”

This is similar to what we have been doing in lab. The faster something travels a distance, the steeper the slope is to the peak. If there is more airline travel, there are more people being exposed to influenza and if there are less people traveling, less people are exposed to influenza. This would be shown on a graph as an increase in the number of people getting influenza in a set time. The slope would be positive and start out gradually increasing into a steeper slope until the peak. The peak occurs in late February when more people die from influenza than in any other month. After the peak, the number of individuals who are infected with influenza will slowly decrease creating a steep to gradual negative slope.

This article is related to Newton’s first law because there are equal y-directional forces on the lift and weight/gravity of the airplane and a net force of forward motion in the x-direction. The airplane is in an equal and uniform motion in the liner direction.

This is believed to correlate with the number of individuals who travel via airlines in November. This was visualized in 2001 after air traffic was suspended after September 11^th. This year the peak for influenza was two weeks later, showing that air flight travel may play a significant role in the number of individuals infected with influenza.

The information gained from this correlation could be used to aid in the creation of more flu vaccinations. If there are restrictions on air travel, more vaccinations could be produced in time to immunize individuals who are likely to be affected. This will lessen the amount of contact between individuals who are possible carriers, since not everyone will be allowed to travel. This could be a way to control the influenza pandemic.