This Week in Travel and Health

When travelers weren’t standing in never-ending airport lines this week, they were talking about the latest news on Avian Flu. The H7N9 strain has killed 22 people and infected more than 100 since late February, and now has been detected in a man in Taiwan, according to the New York Times’ Bree Feng and Denise Grady. That’s a mortality rate of over 20 percent. Yikes. NBC News’ Maggie Fox reports that live chicken markets in China are the likely source of this outbreak. CNN’s Elizabeth Landau offers 5 things you should know about H7N9. And our Dr. Frank Gillingham offers tips on how to protect yourself.

The bird flu threat was only a piece of a difficult travel week – as we told you last week, sequester-forced furloughs were going to make for long airport delays across the United States – that’s exactly what happened (best exemplified by this stacked-up-on-the-runway photo from Gadling). And, at the last second, travelers dying to take their Swiss army knives on board a plane were denied. The Business Journal’s Joe Brancatelli reports on a week of frustration. Huffington Post’s Sam Stein reports that late Thursday night the U.S. Senate reached a deal that should ease the air traffic fiasco.

So, how can we make travel easier? Solutions abound! CNN’s James Durston and Chuck Thompson propose 10 things the travel industry can do right now to make traveling more humane. And at USA Today, George Hobica offers 9 ways passengers can make life easier for their airplane cabin mates.

When you’re traveling on vacation, it’s a chance to unwind and not be quite so strict with yourself; that often means drinking a little more alcohol than you might normally. But how much qualifies as “drinking a lot” varies from country to country, and how much the bartender pours also varies. Expat Health’s Bill Carriker has the details on the wide range of international alcohol guidelines.

We’ve written it before – getting out of your car or off the train and taking a walk is an awesome way to see and experience a place you’re visiting. Apparently the travel editors at the New York Times agree. Last weekend, the Times put together a terrific package on walking in Europe – including nine great walking paths that show you the essence of these cities.

Conde Nast Traveler has put together its annual hot list – the 154 best new hotels on Planet Earth. This year’s hotels themselves range from the very tiny (the one-suite Howie’s HomeStay in Thailand) to the very large (the 745-room Mulia Resort, in Nusa Dua, Bali). They cost a little (99 bucks for a night at the Tántalo Hotel in Panama City), and they cost a fortune ($1900 for a stay at the Singita Mara River Tented Camp in Tanzania).