WATER on some of the commercial airplanes, entering the US, may not be fit for drinking or even hand-washing, a preliminary federal study has found.
The water on more than one out of every eight passenger airplanes randomly tested by the US Environmental Protection Agency was tainted with coliform bacteria, evidence, it said, that human or animal waste is in the water.
Federal officials disclosed that the bacteria were found in water samples drawn from the restrooms and kitchens of 20 airplanes tested for over a month recently. In all, 158 airliners were tested.
On two of the planes, E coli bacteria were discovered in the water. This form of bacteria can cause serious intestinal illness and even death.
Even though the tests were preliminary and possible pollution citations and fines are still being negotiated with the airlines, EPA acting enforcement chief Thomas Skinner said his agency made the data public because fliers had the right to know about potential health problems with the water. He called the findings surprising.
The tainted water was found mostly in restrooms, EPA officials said. More than half of the planes with tainted water originated overseas, pointing to a possible problem outside of US environmental control, they said.
Skinner suggested that airline passengers who have weakened immune systems should avoid drinking airline water, coffee and tea, and use bottled water instead. Those people should also avoid using airline water to wash their hands.
The airline industry, not surprisingly, denies that water on planes is unhealthy. Doug Wills, a spokesman for the airline industry, said that water on planes was safe and that the EPA study was flawed. He said the airline industry’s own study and an earlier study this year by the Food and Drug Administration gave airplanes a clean bill of health.
However, the chief of the FDA survey said that it wasn’t nearly as broad as EPA’s and that it came to no conclusion about health.
In 2003, the EPA found that 3.5 per cent of Americans got their drinking water from public systems that contained coliform bacteria. Airplanes had a 12.5 per cent rate of coliform in the preliminary tests.
Until more testing is done, the EPA is working with airlines to develop new guidelines on testing frequency and sampling size, what to do when test results are positive and how often to disinfect and flush their tanks, Skinner said. — Samina Iqbal
Matters of the heart
PEOPLE with advanced age, high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiac disease have a higher risk of developing Atrial Fibrillation, the most common cardiac rhythm disorder. This was stated in a recent issue of the Journal of American Medical Association.
As obesity is associated with all these conditions, so studies have been conducted to confirm this hypothesis. A study was performed on 5282 participants, with a mean age of 57 years.
There were 55 per cent women and 45 per cent men and all were followed for a mean period of 13.7 years. Overweight and obesity were calculated by measuring the Body Mass Index (height and weight ratio). Of the 2384 men, 51 per cent were overweight and 17 per cent obese, whereas in the women’s group, 31 per cent were overweight and 16 per cent were obese.
This community based study indicated that obesity is a risk factor for Atrial Fibrillation. As hypertension and diabetes are closely linked with obesity, and they also predispose to Atrial Fibrillation, the risk for these people is further increased.
Left atrial enlargement is an important precursor of Atrial Fibrillation and obesity is an important determinant of left atrial size. Obesity also has a direct influence on the structure of the heart muscle, possibly due to oxidative stress.
As management of Atrial Fibrillation remains a difficult clinical challenge, the modifiable risk factors as obesity, can have important public health implications. Weight reduction leads to regression of left atrial enlargement, so it can be hypothetisized that weight loss may be considered an important tool in the therapy of chronic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. — Dr Fatema Jawad
