Evaluating Pathogen Risk in Delta’s Travel Ribbon

Section 1: Threats

Pathogen Public Surfaces Found Persistence on Surface Description Burden

Staphylococcus  Aircraft interior  Hours to months Bacteria that causes: Staph infections
 Airport  Porous surfaces longer  Skin infections  200,000 + cases per
 Offices than flat, hard surfaces  Food poisoning yr
 Classrooms  Polymer: 7 days  Bacteremia Staphylococcus aureus
 Transit systems  Steel: 9-10 days  Toxic Shock  119,000
 Public restrooms  Cotton lint: 25 days  Septic Arthritis bloodstream
 Grocery stores  Plastic: 28 days Transmission: infections cases &
 Kiosk touch Mayo Clinic:  Contaminated 20,000 deaths in US
screens Staph bacteria able to survive: surfaces  One of the leading
- Drying  Person to person causes of
- Extremes of  Food & water bacteremia and
temperature sepsis worldwide
- Stomach acid MRSA
 Hospital setting
presents most risk
 5% of patients in
U.S. carry MRSA on
nose & skin
Streptococcus  Aircraft interior  Glass & metal: 2-88h Bacteria that causes: Group A:
(Group A)  Airport  Plastic: hrs-months  Strep throat  millions of non-
 Classrooms  Wood, clothing, rubber:  Scarlet fever invasive cases a yr
 Transit systems 13 days  Rheumatic fever  11-24,000 of
 Public restrooms  Toxic shock invasive cases a yr
 Grocery stores  Impetigo  1,200-1,900 deaths
 Cellulitis of invasive cases
 Pneumonia Global burden Group A:
 Meningitis  111 mil children
Transmission: have impetigo
 Contaminated  15.6 mil have
surfaces rheumatic heart
 Person to disease
person- more
common
E. coli  Aircraft interior  Cloth: 24h Bacteria that causes: Global burden:
 Airport  Laminate: 24h  Abdominal  300 mil illnesses &
 Offices  Stainless steel: 28 days cramps 200,000 deaths
 Classrooms  Plastic: hrs-days  Diarrhea caused by
 Transit systems  Metal: 7 days  Mild fever diarrheagenic E. coli
 Public restrooms  Glass slides: 14 days  Fatigue a yr
 Escalator handrails  Nausea Shiga Toxin producing E. coli:
 vomiting  265,000 cases a yr
Transmission:  Severe intestinal
 Waterborne & infection, most
foodborne common strain
 Person to person
 Contaminated
surfaces
Influenza A  Aircraft interior  Stainless steel & plastic: Respiratory virus that  24,000-62,000
 Classrooms 48 hrs causes: deaths 2020
(H1N1)  Offices  Cloth & light switch: 4-9  Fever  410,000-740,000
 Public restrooms h  Cough hospitalizations in
 Window glass, keyboard,  Fatigue 2020
& aluminum: 4h  Sore throat  39-56 million cases
 Nausea & in 2020
vomiting
 Runny nose
 Diarrhea
Transmission:
 Contaminated
surfaces
 Inhalation of
contaminated
droplets
Norovirus  Aircraft interior  Days to weeks Virus that causes acute Global burden:
 Offices  Doorknob, counter, & gastroenteritis:  Leading cause of
 Classrooms elevator button: weeks  Diarrhea acute
 Public restrooms  Vomiting gastroenteritis
 Nausea globally
 Stomach pain  685 million cases a
 Fever yr
 Body aches  50,0000 child
Transmission: deaths a yr
 Contaminated  GII. 4 viruses most
surfaces most common
common route U.S. Burden:
 Waterborne or  19-21 million cases
foodborne  900 deaths
 Person to person  109,000
hospitalizations
SARS-CoV  Aircraft SARS-CoV-1 Viral respiratory illness SARS-CoV outbreak 2003:
  Plastic: 8 days caused by a strain of  8,098 global cases
 Short survival time on coronavirus that causes:  774 deaths
non-porous material  Flu-like  US: 8 cases
 Paper & cotton: 24h symptoms MERS-CoV:
 Cardboard: 24h  Fever  2,519 cases
 Copper: 8h  Chills  866 deaths
 Stainless steel: 72h  Muscle aches  80% cases in Saudi
MERS-CoV  Dry cough Arabia
 Plastic & stainless steel:  Shortness of  2 cases in U.S.
48h breath SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-2 Transmission:  28 million cases in
 Copper: 4h  Air droplets U.S.
 Cardboard: 24h  Close personal  506,000 deaths in
 Stainless steel & plastic: contact U.S.
7 days  Contaminated  112 million cases
 Tissue paper: 3h surfaces globally (2/26)
 Wood & cloth: 1 day (unlikely)  2.5 million deaths
 Glass: 4 days *7 human pathogenic globally (2/26)
 Infectious virus strains
detectable on plastic &
inner mask layer: 4 days
  Outer layer of surgical
mask: 7 days
H5N8 Avian N/A N/A  The 7 cases were *2/20/21 Russia reported
Influenza asymptomatic cases of the 1st known H5N8
 Likelihood of avian flu in humans
human infection  Poultry farm
has been workers
considered low
 Since 2004,
avian influenza A
viruses have
spread from Asia
to Europe via
wild birds
 101,000 hens on
the farm died
which prompted
investigation
Songliv virus Prthoairovirus genus that  Patients reported
(SGLV) includes viruses like being bitten by ticks
Crimean-Congo in northeastern
hemorrhagic fever & tick- China
transmitted viruses  42 patients
hospitalized
Clinical symptoms: between 2017 &
 Headache 2018
 Fever
 Depression
 Fatigue
 Dizziness

*good reminder of
emerging infectious
diseases