Infectious diseases spread faster than ever, says WHO

It's amazing the amount of passengers on airlines these days. Even though we're more connected than ever, business airline travel has never been more fruitful and consumers are apparently flying more than ever (for vacations, I suppose?).

In 2006, there were an estimated 2.1 billion airline passengers flying around the planet. Can you imagine the amount of airborne ailments accompanying some of those passengers? The World Health Organization (WHO) can certainly imagine it.

The WHO said that infectious diseases are spreading faster than ever before, most likely due to the sheer amount of people in planes who are indirectly contacting all those other passengers in an endless chain reaction. Want proof? When the WHO Director-General states that "new diseases are emerging at the historically unprecedented rate of one per year," that is pretty serious, folks. Will you wear a gas mask on your next flight?