How stay healthy and prevent infections when traveling in planes.

REmember the news story about that quarantined Emirates flight that had 19 passengers with symptoms of fever and coughing in 2018?

You dont want to be the unhealthyunwellthyDJ stuck on some quarantined flight right before your next gig.

Here are some general tips :

1. Wash your hands often, with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is the single most important infection control measure, and it lists it first among the guidelines for preventing the spread of disease on commercial aircraft.

2. Carry alcohol-based hand sanitizer (the CDC recommends at least 60 percent alcohol) in case water isn't nearby.

3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, the CDC tells flight crews.

4. Keep the air vents above your seat open to improve ventilation. Frequent flier and travel analyst Henry Harteveldt of Atmosphere Research in San Francisco says he points the open vent to blow air away from him on every flight.

5. Wipe down down the arm rests and tray table with sanitary wipes and bring tissues to open the bathroom door. 

6. Bring a face mask in case you're seated next to someone coughing or sneezing. Harteveldt doesn't use one but says it's become routine for many passengers following the SARS epidemic in 2003. The CDC recommends flight crews use them when dealing with sick passengers with respiratory symptoms.

7. Pick a window seat and don't budge. That was among the recommendations from a study published in March about how respiratory viruses spread on planes.

8. Ask a flight attendant if it's possible to switch seats to move away from a sick passenger. The same March study found that passengers within two seats or a row of a passenger with a respiratory illness have an 80% or greater possibility of getting sick, CNN reported.

9. Consult the Travelers' Health section of the CDC's website for advisories and advice on traveling around the world. You can filter by destination and the type of traveler you are, from a family with children to someone with a chronic disease.