This is nothing to sneeze at:
America spends billions of dollars annually to keep terrorists, bombs and contraband off of jetliners.
Yet next to nothing to prevent cold and flu germs from recirculating through passenger air supplies.
It’s one thing to catch a cold from a guy 25 rows behind. It’s quite another thing to catch the flu from a guy 41 rows in front.
Colds are annoying. Flu, however, has the real potential to kill.
Swine flu, now sweeping the United States, is just the latest example of deadly influenza gripping the planet.
You’d think America could develop effective ways to filter germs from air-conditioning systems in public enclosures.
And reduce healthcare costs, lost productivity and—in many cases—premature deaths for America’s most vulnerable. (20 SEPTEMBER 2009)
