Watch: Does being on a plane put you at greater risk of catching flu?

Watch: Reporter Elaine Yong has tips to stay healthy when you fly

On Wednesday, Canada registered North America’s first case of avian flu.

The victim — a woman in her late 20’s — flew from Beijing to Vancouver to Edmonton on December 27.

Now, the Public Health Agency of Canada says it will be contacting passengers who were on the same flights as the woman to check on their health.

But the acting chief public health officer says it is unlikely transmission occurred on the planes.

Yesterday, B.C. health officer said the risk to anyone who was potentially exposed to the H5N1 patient while at the Vancouver International Airport was minimal.

Nevertheless, the incident is raising questions around the safety of air travel.

Does being on a plane mean a greater risk of catching flu virus?

Watch: Vancouver Coastal Health travel clinic director Dr. Suni Boraston talks about the chances of getting sick on a plane

Vancouver Coastal Health travel clinic director Dr. Suni Boraston says aircrafts re-circulate their air through high efficiency filters, which remove 99.9 per cent of the organisms.

“The studies that have been done show that you are no more likely to get sick on an airplane than you are getting sick anywhere else,” says Boraston.

She says you have to be quite close to the sick person to get infected.

“It is within a two-seat radius that we will see the transmission of infection diseases.”

Boraston says passengers can vaccinate themselves against many respirator diseases, such as Influenza, Measles, and Pertussis as a precaution before travelling.

“Then there is an issue of gastrointestinal diseases like Norovirus that get transmitted through surfaces,” she says. “So the way you avoid that is hand washing – soap and water when you can, and if not – a hand sanitizer.”

Boraston says usually planes do not get fully disinfected between flights because of turnaround time.

“If you are unfortunate and you are sitting on a nine-hour flight next to someone who  is coughing, that is bad luck. They are certainly not very sympathetic with moving you. And usually the plane is full and there is nowhere to move you to.”

Boraston says wearing a mask can help, but you have to keep it on for the duration of the flight.

“That means you can’t eat anything or drink anything. It is just not practical.”