Travel International Flights? Check Your Flight for Disinsection

If you travel international flights, you could end up with more than juice and a movie. You might also get a dose of pesticides. Disinsection is the spraying of aircraft with insecticide. It's to prevent transport of mosquitoes and other bugs carrying deadly diseases.

To travel international flights, malaria treatment or dengue fever prevention may be necessary. However, is the trade-off worth it? The World Health Organization (WHO) says it's safe. Not everyone agrees.

Pyrtherum for Travel: International Flights

The most common chemical used is Pyrtherum, which is synthetic nerve poison, known as Black Label Roach Killer. Worldwide, 49 countries require disinsection. According to the U.S. Air Transport Association, the following countries may require it before arrival:

Antigua, Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Northern Marianas, Panama, Peru, St. Lucia, St. Martin, and Venezuela.

A U.S. Department of Transportation survey estimates during one year ending September 1993, almost 15.2 million passengers flew on major U.S. airlines to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. They were sprayed in flight or on the ground after landing, exposing millions of unsuspecting travelers to pesticides.

Travel International Flights: CDC and AFA

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says passengers and crew members report reactions to insecticides, but, "there are no data to support a cause-and- effect relationship." The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) has documented disinsection-related illnesses of its members since 1990. In 2000 alone they collected reports of health problems from staff on 230 flights with a single airline. AFA supports use of non-chemical disinsection.

Symptoms include sinus problems, swollen and itchy eyes, coughing, difficulty breathing, rashes, headaches and fatigue. People also report nervous-system and immune system damage. One pilot said he felt so sick after disinsection that he believed the safe operation of the flight was compromised.

Green Environment and Chemical Sensitivity

If a green environment is important or if chemical sensitivity is a problem, find out if your flight is affected. Speak to your airline directly or check its website. For now, disinsection is reality for travel on international flights.

Related article:
A Healthy Liver: Support and Triage
Which Country is the Leader in Green Technologies?

Source:
Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP)
Email : ncap@igc.apc.org.