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To the Editor: Dr Nutik Zitter and colleagues¹ found no evidence that the recirculation of cabin air in commercial jet aircraft increased the risk of upper respiratory tract infection (URI) among passengers. However, they also stated that 20% of passengers reported URI symptoms within 5 to 7 days of flying. This represents an infection rate of 12.2 URIs per person per year. In contrast, Reid et al² reported that among London commuters, traveling by either bus or train, the rate was only 2.2 URIs per person per year. Similarly, the National Institutes of Health states that a healthy adult should expect between 2 and 4 URIs each year.³ The data of Nutik Zitter et al suggest that flying as a passenger in a commercial jet aircraft appears to increase the risk of URI by a factor of approximately 4.

Martin Hocking, BSc, PhD
Department of Chemistry

Harold D. Foster, BSc, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Jessica Nutik Zitter, MD, MPH
Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
University of California, San Francisco

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Aircraft Cabin Air Recirculation and Symptoms of the Common Cold
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