SynthesisEpidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)2016
Review Article: Influenza Transmission on Aircraft: A Systematic Literature Review.
Synthesis in Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Causes of COVID-19 Outbreaks During Sports and Exercise: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Pooled it
- Does 2x2 airplane passenger contact tracing for infectious respiratory pathogens work? A systematic review of the evidence.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with aircraft travel: a systematic review.Journal of travel medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Hand hygiene and facemask use to prevent droplet-transmitted viral diseases during air travel: a systematic literature review.BMC public health · 2021Pooled it
- Transmission routes of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09: analyses of inflight outbreaks.Epidemiology and infection · 2018Pooled it
- Comparative Analysis of Flight Volume Effects on COVID-19 and Influenza Transmission Across Variable Control Intensities, 2019-2024.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Integrating Surveillance and Stakeholder Insights to Predict Influenza Epidemics: A Bayesian Network Study in Queensland, Australia.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Spatiotemporal transmission of SARS-CoV-2 lineages during 2020-2021 in Pernambuco-Brazil.Microbiology spectrum · 2024Article
- Contraction of Respiratory Viral Infection During air Travel: An Under-Recognized Health Risk for Athletes.Sports medicine - open · 2024Article
- Poor air passenger knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms and behaviour undermines strategies aimed at preventing the import of SARS-CoV-2 into the UK.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Numerical Investigation of Very Low Reynolds Cross Orifice Jet for Personalized Ventilation Applications in Aircraft Cabins.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The Impact of Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning Design Features on the Transmission of Viruses, Including SARS-CoV-2: Overview of Reviews.Interactive journal of medical research · 2022Review
- Population genetic models for the spatial spread of adaptive variants: A review in light of SARS-CoV-2 evolution.PLoS genetics · 2022Review
- Recent progress on studies of airborne infectious disease transmission, air quality, and thermal comfort in the airliner cabin air environment.Indoor air · 2022Review
- Transmissibility and transmission of respiratory viruses.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2021Review
- Risk Assessment for the Transmission of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-Cov) on Aircraft: A Systematic Review.Epidemiology and infection · 2021Article
- SARS-CoV-2: how safe is it to fly and what can be done to enhance protection?Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 2021Article
- Transmission of SARS-CoV 2 During Long-Haul Flight.Emerging infectious diseases · 2020Article
- Association of COVID-19 pandemic with meteorological parameters over Singapore.The Science of the total environment · 2020Article
- On airborne transmission and control of SARS-Cov-2.The Science of the total environment · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAir travel is associated with the spread of influenza through infected passengers and potentially through in-flight transmission. Contact tracing after exposure to influenza is not performed systematically. We performed a systematic literature review to evaluate the evidence for influenza transmission aboard aircraft.
methodsUsing PubMed and EMBASE databases, we identified and critically appraised identified records to assess the evidence of such transmission to passengers seated in close proximity to the index cases. We also developed a bias assessment tool to evaluate the quality of evidence provided in the retrieved studies.
resultsWe identified 14 peer-reviewed publications describing contact tracing of passengers after possible exposure to influenza virus aboard an aircraft. Contact tracing during the initial phase of the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic was described in 11 publications. The studies describe the follow-up of 2,165 (51%) of 4,252 traceable passengers. Altogether, 163 secondary cases were identified resulting in an overall secondary attack rate among traced passengers of 7.5%. Of these secondary cases, 68 (42%) were seated within two rows of the index case.
conclusionWe found an overall moderate quality of evidence for transmission of influenza virus aboard an aircraft. The major limiting factor was the comparability of the studies. A majority of secondary cases was identified at a greater distance than two rows from the index case. A standardized approach for initiating, conducting, and reporting contact tracing could help to increase the evidence base for better assessing influenza transmission aboard aircraft.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.