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Volume 19, Number 9—September 2013
Research

Protection by Face Masks against Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Virus on Trans-Pacific Passenger Aircraft, 2009

Lijie Zhang1, Zhibin Peng1, Jianming Ou1, Guang Zeng1, Robert E. Fontaine, Mingbin Liu, Fuqiang Cui, Rongtao Hong, Hang Zhou, Yang Huai, Shuk-Kwan Chuang, Yiu-Hong Leung, Yunxia Feng, Yuan Luo, Tao Shen, Bao-Ping Zhu, Marc-Alain Widdowson, and Hongjie YuComments to Author 
Author affiliations: Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China (L. Zhang, Z. Peng, G. Zeng, M. Liu, F. Cui, H. Zhou, Y. Feng, Y. Luo, T. Shen, B.-P. Zhu, H. Yu); Fujian Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fuzhou, China (J. Ou, R. Hong); Nanchang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanchang, China (M. Liu); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (R. E. Fontaine, M.-A. Widdowson); China–US Collaborative Program on Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, Beijing (Y. Huai); Hong Kong Department of Health, Hong Kong, China (S.-K. Chuang, Y.-H. Leung)

Main Article

Table

Case–control analysis of potential risk or protective factors for 9 case-passengers infected with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus and 32 control-passengers on a flight from New York, New York, to Hong Kong, China, May 2009*

Risk or protective factor No response, no. (%)† Response, no. (%) OR (95% CI)‡ 2-tailed 
p value‡
Case
Case
 Control
 Case
 Control
Age, y Age, y
<20 0 0 4 (44) 4 (12) <20 0
20–40 0 0 4 (44) 15 (47) 20–40 0
>40 0 0 1 (11) 13 (41) >40 0
Male sex 0 0 5 (56) 15 (47) Male sex 0
Chinese ethnicity 0 0 8 (89) 32 (100) Chinese ethnicity 0
Flight from New York to Vancouver Flight from New York to Vancouver
Wearing mask 0 0 1 (11) 16 (57) Wearing mask 0
Using lavatory 3 0 3 (11) 2 (22) 7 (28) Using lavatory 3 0
Using lavatory 5 1 (11) 3 (11) 2 (25) 4 (16) Using lavatory 5 1 (11)
Using lavatory 3 or 5 1 (11) 1 (3.6) 3 (38) 11 (41) Using lavatory 3 or 5 1 (11)
Using lavatory 3, 4, 5, or 6 0 1 (3.6) 6 (67) 14 (52) Using lavatory 3, 4, 5, or 6 0
Flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong Flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong
Wearing mask 0 0 0 15 (47) Wearing mask 0
Using lavatory 3 0 2 (6) 5 (56) 7 (23) Using lavatory 3 0
Using lavatory 5 1 (13) 2 (6) 1 (13) 5 (17) Using lavatory 5 1 (13)
Using lavatory 3 or 5 1 (13) 0 5 (63) 12 (38) Using lavatory 3 or 5 1 (13)
Using lavatory 3, 4, 5, or 6 0 0 7 (78) 20 (63) Using lavatory 3, 4, 5, or 6 0
Flight from New York to Hong Kong Flight from New York to Hong Kong
Wearing mask 0 0 0 15 (47) Wearing mask 0
Talking with other passengers 0 0 2 (22) 6 (19) Talking with other passengers 0
Moving around airplane 0 0 1 (11) 3 (9.4) Moving around airplane 0
Contact with patients with ILI 0 0 0 0 Contact with patients with ILI 0
Hand sanitation¶ Hand sanitation¶
Washing hands when using lavatory 0 0 9 (100) 32 (100) Washing hands when using lavatory 0
Cleaning hands before eating 0 0 8 (89) 29 (91) Cleaning hands before eating 0
Among 9 case- and 17 control-passengers who did not wear masks during flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong
Using lavatory 3 0 1 (6) 5 (56) 6 (38) Using lavatory 3 0
Using lavatory 3 or 5 1 (13) 0 5 (63) 9 (53) Using lavatory 3 or 5 1 (13)
Using lavatory 3, 4, 5, or 6 0 0 7 (78) 13 (76) Using lavatory 3, 4, 5, or 6 0

*Of the 32 control-passengers on the flight from New York to Hong Kong, 28 boarded in New York and 4 boarded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. OR, odds ratio; NA, not applicable; ILI, influenza-like illness; NE, not estimated.
†No. case-passengers or control-passengers who did not answer the question.
‡By Fisher Exact test and StatXact 8 (15).
§Difference among 3 age groups.
¶Always washed hands when using lavatory and always used wet towel before eating.

Main Article

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1These authors contributed equally to this article.

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