With America’s first confirmed death due to the Ebola virus, public alarm about safe and healthy air travel is ramping up, the Chicago Tribune reports.

At international airports throughout the country, ABC News reported that even airline workers are expressing their concern.

One Spectrum Health physician reassures worried travelers about Ebola.

“There is no need to cancel that family trip to Orlando,” said Iveta Dubravec, MD, Spectrum Health Medical Group, a travel medicine expert. “While Ebola is the concern at the moment, we worry more about other shared diseases such as the flu or even a common cold. There are steps that everyone who travels on an airplane can take to stay safe from disease.”

The first step is to avoid non-essential travel to Ebola outbreak areas in West Africa and check the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website frequently for updates.

When you do travel, Dr. Dubravec shares these tips:

  1. Don’t travel if you yourself are experiencing any sign of illness.
  2. Get your flu shot at least two weeks before you travel.
  3. Wash your hands. Clean your hands thoroughly and often.
  4. Travel with a small (TSA approved) bottle of hand sanitizer. Use it once you are settled in your seat and again after you depart the plane.
  5. Take precautions when using the lavatory on the plane.
  6. Pay attention to any symptoms that your nearby seatmates may exhibit. As much as possible, try to keep your distance and avoid contact with anything they might touch.
  7. Don’t share food or drinks.
  8. Cover your mouth and nose with a scarf or tissue if someone near you sneezes or coughs in your direction. Discard used tissues right away and then wash your hands carefully.

Following these tips should help alleviate air travelers’ health concerns.

Dr. Dubravec says that there is no absolute guarantee that you will not pick up a disease while traveling but “that is much more likely to happen at the neighborhood supermarket.”

Spectrum Health Travel Medicine offers all the necessary immunizations, as well as counseling and information on common health hazards for a specific destination. Along with being a full service travel clinic and a certified yellow fever vaccination center, Spectrum Health Travel Medicine offers travel-related vaccines that can protect against flu, typhoid, hepatitis A and B, Japanese Encephalitis, rabies, meningitis, polio and other infections. Services are provided by a dedicated and experienced staff of physicians, nurses, physician assistants and clinical staff.