Q: An article in the paper said that a boy became allergic to a dog on an airplane and had to be removed from the plane. Why was a dog in the passenger section of an airplane?
—Frank Burnette, Decatur
A: Many airlines allow animals to ride in the cabin of commercial flights, but they must follow Federal Aviation Administration rules.
Those include: Pet containers must be able to fit below the seats and must stay stowed throughout the flight.
Delta, for example, allows dogs, cats and household birds. United also allows rabbits, but not cockatoos, according to its website. Other airlines have breed restrictions.
Airlines generally charge a pet fee for transporting an animal in the cabin and have a maximum number of pets that can fly in the cabin.
The FAA doesn’t consider service animals to be pets, so “there is no limit to the number of service animals that can be on any flight.”
Pets aren’t allowed in the cabins of flights that originate and end in certain countries.
Q: Since the Zika virus was identified in 1947 in sub-Saharan Africa, has that area also experienced increased numbers of cases of the virus?
—David Dickey, Dallas
A: The largest recorded African outbreak of the Zika virus occurred in Gabon in 2007, when 20,000 people were affected, Time reported.
The only other outbreaks prior to South America in 2015 were in Southeast Asia in 2007 and French Polynesia in 2013.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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