Wear a properly fitted P100 particulate mask and goggles (or a full-face P100 respirator), use hand sanitizer, and don't eat or drink anything while on board, and keep your hands away from mucous membranes, then shower and launder your clothing when you arrive. That minimizes your chances of being infected to near zero. I always carry a P100 mask in my carry-on just in case someone is hacking and coughing on the flight. Costs about two bucks from WW Grainger's.Feck wrote:Can we have smoking back on planes so they actually have to change the air ! .... I'd rather not catch drug resistant TB, you can all hate me for the infinitesimal risk to your health from my smoke but I sure beats coughing your lungs apart because the plane was used on a previous flight from america .
I've considered a full-face respirator, but I'm guessing I'd have to have a long argument about wearing it with the flight crew because it might upset other passengers. I'd be prepared to argue that I had a compromised immune system and that I needed to wear the mask to avoid infection.
According to the airlines, they have HEPA (P100) filters in the recirculating system of the aircraft, so the recirculated air is as clean as it can get outside an operating theater, but the problem is not with the recirculated air (as long as they change and actually replace the filters regularly) it's with droplet infection that never makes it to the filters, and the only way to avoid that is personal protective equipment and sanitation.
