FLIGHT TRAUMA September 2000 - "Perceptions" published warning of danger, especially for pregnant women, of long-haul flights. REASON - we'd heard a woman's question on a radio phone-in. She'd asked - "Is it safe for me to travel by air (long-haul) while I'm pregnant? or should I delay the trip?" The BBC `expert' said "It's quite safe - go ahead!" It suddenly clicked that our work re the inertial effects on organic cells, say those of astronauts or others experiencing increased angular momentum, could apply to air-line passengers if altitude (distance from Earth's axis), and speed were high enough (taking _direction_ ie West-East say, into account). That is, we expect clearer, more obvious symptoms from Eastward, high altitude, high speed flights at medium to equatorial latitudes that cross several time-zones. That's almost opposite to "radiation-damage" risks, which are obviously higher on cross-polar flights. Rang BBC during the phone-in but the BBC, not unexpectedly, refused to add the warning to their reassuring program. Immediately checked the facts; and did a web-trawl to see if any warnings had been published - they hadn't. [Science air-info on the web seemed sparse and reticent, to say the least] So published the now-famous "Women-WARNING" on fertility-page www.perceptions.couk.com/uef/fertility.html#caution Then, during the next few days, sent notification to known indexers & assessors of "Perceptions" pages - ie. organized web groups and web-indexers, mainly in USA see:- www.perceptions.couk.com/uef/fertility.html#caution www.perceptions.couk.com/answers2.html#note www.perceptions.couk.com/uef/ansci.html#info The notifications to readers were sent on 01 October 2000 Due to ignorance of aviation's cost to the environment and maybe also due to plain old human greed, avation had "never had a down-turn" - until our warning; which was shortly followed by the mysteriously delayed news of the sad death of young Emma Christoffersen - from "DVT". (We think her death would have remained unreported, as so many others have, if the "Perceptions" warning had not pre-alerted the Press in USA) Here's the record of what happened over next few months:- ------------------------------------ Sunday, 5 November, 2000, 15:50 GMT British Airways 'to axe regional flights' British Airways is to sell four of its 57 jumbo jets British Airways remained tight-lipped on Sunday over a report that it is to add UK provincial routes to a portfolio of services to be axed. The newspaper report comes two days after the airline revealed that passenger traffic fell more than 4% in October compared to the same month in 1999, with the number of travellers on Asia Pacific routes dropping by 10.9%. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1008277.stm ------------------------------------ 22 Nov. 2000 British "House of Lords" (Senate) hurriedly sided with `Perceptions' warning campaign - (without saying so) Airlines neglect passengers' health, says Lords report Wednesday November 22, 2000 The health of passengers on flights has been "woefully neglected", according to a parliamentary report published today. There is a "current paucity" of data about any possible link between flying and the potentially fatal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) complaint, the report adds. The report, Air Travel and Health, says that DVT should not be seen as purely a phenomenon affecting cheaper travellers, and that the misleading term "economy-class syndrome" should be dropped. The possible link between DVT and flying was highlighted last month when bride-to-be Emma Christofferson, 28 died from deep-vein thrombosis moments after getting off a long-haul flight from Australia. The Lords committee said there was no available information on the contribution of air travel to the overall risk of DVT. But if there is an increased risk of DVT solely from flying it is small, the report says - "exceedingly small" for healthy people. "Although any additional risk [of DVT from flying] is likely to be small, it is not in doubt that risk factors of prolonged immobility and cramped seating are present in aircraft." Lady Wilcox, who chaired the committee's nine-month inquiry, said: "Passengers intending to fly are not told enough to enable them to make informed choices about their air travel. While the health risks seem slight for the great majority - indeed, millions of people fly safely every day - we recommend urgent research and development of user-friendly information for passengers to reduce any further risks." http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,2763,401394,00.html ------------------------------------ Saturday, 18 November, 2000, 21:57 GMT Study backs blood clot fears The report's author, John Scurr, said the study was specifically designed to trace blood clots caused by flying. Ultrasound scanners "We studied the patients before they went. It was really only because of the flying that there was a difference," he told Sky News. He said it was unlikely that any other activity would have caused the blood clots. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1030436.stm ------------------------------------ Monday, 8 January, 2001, 22:23 GMT Air passengers to sue over blood clots Up to 30,000 people a year are thought to die from DVT, according to the Oxford -based Aviation Health Institute. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1107079.stm ------------------------------------ Tuesday, 16 January, 2001, 14:51 GMT Blood clots associated with air travel may pose a bigger long-term health problem than BSE, an MP has warned. A recent study found that at least one person a month dies of deep vein thrombosis on arrival at London's Heathrow Airport. However, the Heathrow study suggested all long-haul travellers may be vulnerable. John Smith, Labour MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, said: "This could be a greater problem than that of asbestos. It could even be a greater public health problem than that of BSE. Let's do something now before it is too late. "There are a number of examples in this country which are quite frankly scandalous. People are not told, the airlines are not bringing it to their attention." Concerns - Labour's Dr Ian Gibson accused the government and the industry of "complacency" and a "patronising" attitude in the handling of the issue. Opening a debate in Westminster Hall, Norwich North MP Dr Gibson revealed his wife had suffered from the condition five days after a flight from America. "I have never seen information up front about the kind of hazards that may befall me." news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1120348.stm ------------------------------------ Economy Class Syndrome Sunday 10 June 2001 Just over eight months ago a bride-to-be from Newport in South Wales collapsed and died from a blood clot moments after walking off a long haul flight from Melbourne, Australia. Emma Christoffersen was diagnosed as having suffered a pulmonary embolus brought on by the immobility associated with long haul travel or flight-related Deep Vein Thrombosis. The airlines argue that this condition is rare and certainly not exclusive to air travel. But the leading vascular surgeon, John Scurr, recently announced to the medical world that roughly one in 10 air passengers probably develop blood clots while flying long haul. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/audiovideo/programmes/panorama/1368175.stm ------------------------------------ Airlines refuse to help research on killer blood clots Special report: transport in Britain Tania Branigan Monday June 11, 2001 The Guardian Airlines are refusing to assist research into "economy class syndrome" and are failing to offer travellers sufficient warning about the potentially fatal condition of blood clots, according to scientists. Researchers from Britain, Australia and the US say companies have declined or ignored requests for information to help their studies into deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Sam Shuster, emeritus professor of dermatology at Newcastle University, told BBC1's Panorama programme last night that he had asked British Airways for access to passengers in 1996. BA refused, writing: "Most passengers do not wish to get involved and are simply keen to get on with their journey. There is the added difficulty that we have to tread carefully because as a commercial organisation we have no wish to imply that flying might be bad for one's health." A BA spokeswoman yesterday said the proposal had included complex in-flight experiments. She said: "We get hundreds of approaches to do research every year, and are not able to cooperate with all of them." She added that the airline had provided flight information for a recent study. In all, five scientists told Panorama that companies had refused to help their research. "It would be very easy for airlines to send out a letter to those on their mailing list asking for volunteers for studies into blood clots, but they don't want the problem to come out into the open," said Farrol Khan of the Aviation Health Institute, a medical charity promoting the health of passengers. DVT - called economy class syndrome because it is more likely to occur in the restricted conditions found with cheaper airline seats [ed. That's a lie ] is estimated to affect up to one in 10 long-haul passengers and kill up to 1,000 British travellers a year. Because people are not moving around, blood clots develop in their legs and gradually move through their bodies. If the clots reach the lungs they can cause pulmonary embolisms, cutting off the oxygen supply to the body by blocking blood vessels. The programme found that airlines did not warn passengers about DVT specifically, although many advised passengers to keep active and move around. John Cruickshank, a doctor who himself suffered a pulmonary embolism after flying in 1988, said his offer to make a safety video for airlines had been turned down. ------------------------------------ Airlines to issue DVT alert Ministers order blood-clot warnings with tickets Kamal Ahmed, political editor Sunday 5 August 2001 The Observer Airlines will be ordered to hand out health warnings with tickets for long-haul flights as the Government acts to end the scandal of deaths and injuries caused by deep vein thrombosis (DVT), also known as 'economy class syndrome'. Despite repeated denials by airlines, the Government is now convinced there is enough evidence to link potentially lethal blood clots with hours spent in cramped plane seats. The Observer can also reveal that the industry-approved body representing passenger interests has told the Government there is a direct link between DVT and long-haul flights, contradicting the airlines themselves. In a document written for officials involved in the Department of Transport's aviation review, the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) said the risk is of 'great concern'. 'There appears to be sufficient evidence to suggest a relationship between long-haul flying and DVT,' says the document, submitted to the Government in April. 'It may be attributable to being seated for a long time, but may also be related to aspects of the cabin environment.' It is the first time an organisation so closely linked to the airline industry has made such a direct association between the two issues. 'The results of this research are necessary to allow the Department of Health to issue definitive information on the level of risk and authoritative guidance on action to reduce the risk,' it says. Campaigners seized on the developments as evidence that a 'conspiracy of silence' on DVT is beginning to break down. 'It is about time all those organisations involved in this came clean,' said John Smith, Labour MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, who has led a House of Commons campaign on DVT after a constituent's son died from a blood clot soon after a 16-hour flight home from his honeymoon in Hawaii. 'This problem is no respecter of age or health - it could be killing thousands of people a year. We just don't know. We are talking about a major public health problem - we need to know the answers now, not in 10 years' time.' kamal.ahmed@observer.co.uk ------------------------------------ Thursday, 22 November, 2001, 09:33 GMT Round-up: Aviation in crisis The aviation industry has been hit hard by the 11 September terrorist attacks on the US, although, in truth, many airlines were already under severe pressure from falling demand. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1578795.stm ------------------------------------ BEFORE 01 OCT 2000 NO AIRLINE OR GOVERNMENT WARNED ANYBODY OF TRUE DANGERS OF LONG-HAUL FLIGHTS `Perceptions' warning has saved thousands of lives - despite the reflex denials of the airlines (and BBC) and of many complacent politicians. ------------------------------------ All above refers to www.perceptions.couk.com/uef/fertility.html#caution ------------------------------------ `Perceptions' note: What we maybe _didn't_ realize was the amount of long-term resentment we'd caused in the corporates and therefore among the politicians and bureaucrats they `own'. They _now_ claim to be concerned about human lives & so forth, and _now_ repeat the warning that we first gave (against BBC's objections) But they certainly dislike the messenger. Now that resentment seems to be being vented on "Perceptions" Just go "perceptions news update" in Google and click "earlier news" www.perceptions.couk.com/updates1.html ----------------------------------------------- FURTHER REFERENCES GO - "search perceptions" - in SEARCH-ENGINE file-ID www.perceptions.couk.com/record.txt