SynthesisJournal of travel medicine2021
Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with aircraft travel: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Journal of travel medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative Analysis of Flight Volume Effects on COVID-19 and Influenza Transmission Across Variable Control Intensities, 2019-2024.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Monitoring Cross-Border Dissemination of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) via Air Travel to Saudi Arabia: Formulation of Monitoring Strategies to Mitigate AMR Concerns.Environmental science & technology · 2026Article
- Identification of Statewide Hotspots for Respiratory Disease Targets Using Wastewater Monitoring Data.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Article
- Swift Realisation of Wastewater-Based SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance for Aircraft and Airports: Challenges from Sampling to Variant Detection.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- Air Passengers' Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Infection With a 14-Day Quarantine and Accuracy Assessment of a Symptom-based Screening System at an Airport.Journal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi · 2025Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Infection Risk Imposed by Fully-vaccinated Air Travelers Attending an Island-confined Quarantine System Enabling Tourism During the Pandemic: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi · 2024Article
- Contraction of Respiratory Viral Infection During air Travel: An Under-Recognized Health Risk for Athletes.Sports medicine - open · 2024Article
- Spatial Interaction Analysis of Infectious Disease Import and Export between Regions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk for common group activities and settings: a living scoping review.European journal of public health · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 variant introduction following spring break travel and transmission mitigation strategies.PloS one · 2024Article
- Stability of SARS-CoV-2 on Commercial Aircraft Interior Surfaces with Implications for Effective Control Measures.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Contracting COVID-19 Derived from Measured and Simulated Aerosol Particle Transmission in Aircraft Cabins.Environmental health perspectives · 2023Article
- COVID-19 pandemic and air transportation: Summary of Recent Research, Policy Consideration and Future Research Directions.Transportation research interdisciplinary perspectives · 2022Article
- Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Associated with Cruise Ship Travel: A Systematic Review.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Review
- Covid-19 infection risk on US domestic airlines.Health care management science · 2022Article
- Risk of COVID-19 Transmission Aboard Aircraft: An Epidemiological Analysis Based on the National Health Information Platform.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022Article
- Travel in the Time of COVID: A Review of International Travel Health in a Global Pandemic.Current infectious disease reports · 2022Review
- Attack Rate for Wild-Type SARS-CoV-2 during Air Travel: Results from 46 Flights Traced by German Health Authorities, January-March and June-August 2020.The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale · 2022Article
- Wastewater aerosols produced during flushing toilets, WWTPs, and irrigation with reclaimed municipal wastewater as indirect exposure to SARS-CoV-2.Journal of environmental chemical engineering · 2021Review
- Linking precipitation-driven flooding events to acute respiratory illness in New York city.The journal of climate change and healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
rationale for the reviewAir travel may be associated with viruses spread via infected passengers and potentially through in-flight transmission. Given the novelty of the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, transmission associated with air travel is based on transmission dynamics of other respiratory viruses. Our objective was to provide a rapid summary and evaluation of relevant data on SARS-CoV-2 transmission aboard aircraft, report policy implications and to highlight research gaps requiring urgent attention.
methodsWe searched four electronic databases (1 February 2020-27 January 2021) and included studies on SARS-CoV-2 transmission aboard aircraft. We assessed study quality based on five criteria and reported important findings. KEY
findingsWe included 18 studies on in-flight SARS-CoV-2 transmission (130 unique flights) and 2 studies on wastewater from aircraft. The quality of evidence from most published studies was low. Two wastewater studies reported PCR-positive samples with high cycle threshold values (33-39). Index case definition was heterogeneous across studies. The proportion of contacts traced ranged from 0.68 to 100%. Authors traced 2800/19 729 passengers, 140/180 crew members and 8/8 medical staff. Altogether, 273 index cases were reported, with 64 secondary cases. Three studies, each investigating one flight, reported no secondary cases. Secondary attack rate among studies following up >80% of passengers and crew (including data on 10 flights) varied between 0 and 8.2%. The studies reported on the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic and symptomatic individuals. Two studies performed viral cultures with 10 positive results. Genomic sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were performed in individuals from four flights.
conclusionCurrent evidence suggests SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted during aircraft travel, but published data do not permit any conclusive assessment of likelihood and extent. The variation in design and methodology restricts the comparison of findings across studies. Standardized guidelines for conducting and reporting future studies of transmission on aircraft should be developed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.