Rich Hoyer, just back from a phenomenally successful tour of northeastern Mexico, reflects on keeping healthy while traveling:

I was guiding a private tour in Tecolutla, Mexico, when the first cases of the current strain of swine flu were being detected by health authorities. This was only 75 miles from the pig farms of La Gloria, where it was thought to have started.

Then, at the end of a fantastic tour to southern Tamaulipas and the El Cielo Biosphere, my group and I saw guys hawking newspapers on the streets of Matamoros. I managed to glimpse the words “Influenza Porcina,” and you don’t need a degree in Spanish to figure out what that translates to. Gosh, did we just barely escape this scary country in the nick of time!

Given recent reports in the media, this seems like a good time for some tips to help you stay healthy while traveling through airports. While the most recent news has eased our fears of the swine flu (media overhype can be carried on for only so long, after all), we are reminded of the fact that travel does indeed expose us to pathogens that can make their way around the world through humans’ increased mobility.

By now, we’re more aware of the nature of this particular outbreak and the reasons that it caused such a stir at first. But people paying attention, and not relying just on the overhyped mainstream media, also quickly realized quickly that many of the reactions, such as travel bans and the slaughtering of pigs, were little founded.

For one thing, it was clear early on that even though people traveling from Mexico were spreading the flu worldwide, there were not simultaneously infecting all of the passengers in the airplanes and airports. The publicized overreactions were at times even comical, but they may still have led people to cancel travel plans needlessly.

The birding we do in rural areas is about as safe as you can get. In fact, even if we had been birding forest patches across the road from the pig farms of La Gloria, there is no way we could have caught the flu.

But you are exposed to a lot more human contact in airports. Make it a habit to wash your hands frequently, including:

• on entering the bathroom and again when you leave.

• after touching surfaces that a lot of other people have touched, such as handrails on escalators and moving walkways

• after handling money

• before putting food into your mouth.

Be aware where you are putting your hands and avoid touching your mouth, nose, and eyes. And remember, if you’re not feeling well, you could be the one spreading some bug. So try to stay healthy before travel by eating good food, exercising, and avoiding stress.

Dreaming about all the great birds you’ll see on our trips should help as well.