Pandemic
CHAPTER 2
Bugs on a
Plane
Within twenty-four hours, the SARS virus . . . had spread to five
countries; ultimately, SARS appeared in thirty-two countries.
Thanks to the miracle of air travel, one infected man seeded a
global outbreak.
—Sonia Shah, science journalist and author, 2016
O
n an average day, more than eight million people fly on
commercial planes. Experts predict the number of people
traveling by air will double over the next twenty years. And these
millions of people take more than their suitcases, swimsuits, and
POTENTIAL
PANDEMIC
INCREASED
TRAVEL
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