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Commuters should sleep on the train to beat swine flu threat
Anna Davis, Education Correspondent9 Dec 2009
Commuters are being urged to sleep while they travel to avoid catching flu.
Dozing off on the Tube, train or bus could reduce the risk of illness by boosting the immune system.
Research shows that more than half of commuters are putting others at risk by travelling while sick.
Health experts say passengers are at risk of catching flu if they touch a surface that has been sneezed on by an infected person up to three hours earlier.
Swine flu has killed 50 people in the capital. Latest figures show about 184 patients are in London hospitals with the H1N1 virus.
Across the country 25 people died from the disease in the week ending on Thursday, bringing the number of fatalities to 270 since May. About 22,000 new cases emerged compared with the previous week's 46,000.
Flu expert Dr Roger Henderson said the average sneeze travels at 90mph and throws out up to 100,000 droplets. Over half of all flu is caught by breathing in these droplets, which travel about three feet in a confined space.
The advice to sleep while commuting comes from a website, fluandyou.co.uk, which is also urging people to sneeze into their elbow rather than their hand to stop germs spreading.
A spokeswoman said a lack of sleep can reduce the number of white blood cells, which are responsible for the production of antibodies that fight disease. She said it also appears to alter the blood levels of important proteins, called cytokines, resulting in a greater than normal chance of infections.
She added: In the morning rush-hour 1,500 people travel down the Canary Wharf Underground escalators every five minutes. If 10 per cent of these touch a handrail that has been sneezed over up to three hours earlier, or touched by someone who has sneezed into their hand, 150 commuters are potentially infected with the flu virus every five minutes.
The website is run by pharmaceutical firm Reckitt Benckiser.
* Almost one third of London's doctors and nurses have been vaccinated against swine flu. Figures published today show 47,720 of London's 150,000 front line NHS staff have had the jab in the month since it had been available. It comes after the Government and GPs failed to reach an agreement on the vaccine programme for under-fives, with health visitors and district nurses now set to be asked to step in.
Reader views (26)
People with 'flu symptoms should wear a surgical mask when out in public so as to protect others from infection.
- Mary, London, 10/12/2009 06:55
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Surely if you are travelling on a train in a flu pandemic you should keep awake.Because in my experience there are still an awful lot of selfish commuters who cough and sneeze without putting their hands to their mouths.So if you are awake you do at least have the opportunity of embarking on evasive action-ie turning away from the offender before s/he coughs and sneezes all over you.
- Paul, town, 09/12/2009 21:28
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A guy who worked for me could sleep standing up. Can I get the 15 pints on prescription?
- Dave B, Beckenham, 09/12/2009 17:56
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What a good idea ! fall asleep ,go past where you want to be,late for work/appointment and get fined for going out of your zone,its just a money making scheme me thinks.
- Pete Ex Londoner, Hartlepool, 09/12/2009 17:44
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Standing in an overcrowded tube, one hand holding your ipod, one holding the rail, you are more likely to sneeze into the next passenger's armpit.
Paul, Enfield.
- Paul M., Enfield, Middlesex., 09/12/2009 17:05
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Best lines of defence (1) wash hands often and especially when arriving at work and at home after travelling on public transport (even before putting the kettle on); (2) never touch or rub your eyes with unwashed hands; (3) fresh fruit and vegetables, forget the 5 portions, it should be at least 10 a day.
- Patricia, LONDON, 09/12/2009 16:47
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Relaxation, let alone sleep, is now impossible on ANY form of public transport because of the relentless bombardment of whingeing announcements throughout the whole system. Few if any ever have any value: the sillier they are the louder and more frequent they become. Use all available doors, don't shake your umbrella on the steps, security staff tour this station... there's no limit to this corporate madness.
Once you could let the train take the strain. Now the train IS the strain. That's why I drive whenever I can !
- Julian, Tonbridge, England, 09/12/2009 16:04
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Insult heaped on injury for beleaguered commuters. When was the last time anyone got a SEAT ???
- Marianne, SW France/London, 09/12/2009 15:08
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"Go back to planet zogg where you came from " what an idiot we all travel in conditions that the RSPCA would not allow animals to and we are told to have a nap I'm speechless !
- Linda Cliff, London, 09/12/2009 14:22
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Perhaps the driver could read us a nice story and sing the occasional lullaby?
- East, London, 09/12/2009 14:17
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I get the train from Brockley to London Bridge. I don't think I've ever even seen a seat on my train, so will have to brush up on my jedi skill of sleeping whilst standing up.
- Pt, Brockley, 09/12/2009 14:03
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The scary thing about this is that some think tank was paid tens of thousands to come up with this.What solution do they have for us to avoid the flu while we stand in the freezing cold for 30 minutes waiting for the transport to actually arrive.
- Dave, london, 09/12/2009 13:55
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Oh what a epidemic! Perhaps I myself got it at one point but perhaps my immune system dealt with it. Could be wishful thinking but I DID get a terrible flu bug this time last year. So lets's all sleep on to and from work should this help reduce the risks. Chances are we all could be late for work but that's certainly better than running the risk of dying, don't you think?
- Dave The Man, Leicester, 09/12/2009 13:33
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What a jolly good idea! I'll try it next time I'm clinging on to a hand rail being thrown around a tube train! Will work a treat no doubt!
- Kathy, London, 09/12/2009 13:27
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Whoever wrote this doesn't travel on trains! If they did they would know that sleep is impossible because every few minutes there is yet another inane long winded announcement about health & safety, the name of the next stop, where to change to get to Gatwick, where the buffet car is located or how the Waterloo and City line is running.
- Paul, London, 09/12/2009 12:30
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Assuming you get a seat, you also have to contend with the noise pollution
Doors opening.
Doors closing.
This is a Piccadilly line train for Cockfosters
Next station is Arnos Grove.
Please mind the gap
Clearly the advice has been writen by some smart aleck who doesn't do the daily commuting grind that everyone else does.
- Paul, Enfield, 09/12/2009 12:13
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It's reassuring to know the people responsible for combating swine flu are sensible people, brimming with good practical advice.
- Kevin T, Beckenham, Kent, 09/12/2009 11:59
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"Or have 50 people WITH the disease died in the capital?" - Claire, Stone,UK
If you've seen people in the final stages of a fatal influenza infection its pretty clear what the cause of death is I'm sorry to say. x
- Paula M (Icu Nurse), London, 09/12/2009 10:43
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Commute by bicycle. You don't have to share anyone else's bodily fluids....
- George, London, 09/12/2009 10:22
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"Swine flu has killed 50 people in the capital"
Has it? Or have 50 people WITH the disease died in the capital?
- Claire, Stone,UK, 09/12/2009 10:21
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Does passing out due to overcrowding count as sleep?
In response to Adam, Billericay, Essex "Anyone else remember the good old hanky ?" I don't think it is physically possible on many of these trains to reach into one's pocket for the handkerchief and then raise said item to one's face.
- Richard, Madrid, Spain, 09/12/2009 09:48
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i think its a great idea,i travel on the trains a lot and allways pretend to be asleep so i dont have to pay my fare,now i will pretend im asleep with toilet paper blocking me nostrils that should do the trick.....coming shopping in a town near you soon
- Scony, middlesbrough, 09/12/2009 08:59
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Personally I'd rather stay awake and run the risk than have my ipod nicked.
- Steve, London, 09/12/2009 08:52
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How does one sleep standing up due to overcrowding?
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 09/12/2009 08:51
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"fluandyou.co.uk, which is also urging people to sneeze into their elbow rather than their hand to stop germs spreading."
Call me old fashioned, but surely the advice should be to sneeze into a handkerchief, rather than the hand, elbow or other convenient bit of anatomy. Anyone else remember the good old hanky ?
- Adam, Billericay, Essex, 09/12/2009 08:43
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What an excellent idea: you can sleep whilst standing up and being poked by a rucksack. The government can then do the pharma industry's bidding by injecting us with their toxic vaccine! All aboard!
- Neil, People'S Republic Of Europe (Formerly England), London UK, 09/12/2009 08:39
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