James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) drive through Matera, Italy in No Time To Die. A scientific review of Bond’s decades of international adventures concludes that the famous secret service agent has consistently overlooked important health precautions while traveling.
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James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) drive through Matera, Italy in No Time To Die. A scientific review of Bond’s decades of international adventures concludes that the famous secret service agent has consistently overlooked important health precautions while traveling.
Nicola Dove / DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM
Although his latest feat involves defeating a villain armed with a deadly virus in There’s no time to die, James Bond is barely known for promoting public health practices.
From his suspicious sexual behavior to his unsafe eating habits to his taking risks for insect and animal diseases, it’s remarkable that the fictional undercover agent is famous. The voice has many times lived another day.
In one new paper, published in a magazine Travel medicine and infectious diseases, researchers report numerous examples of 007’s shaky approach to travel health and safety throughout 25 films produced by Eon Films between 1962 and 2021.
With many COVID-related international travel restrictions coming to an end, the researchers’ findings could provide helpful reminders for soon-to-be explorers of what to expect. Not must do if you are contemplating a trip away or even a trip in the country.
All three authors are malaria experts who, like Bond, frequently travel to remote locations. The co-author said: “We’ve always been careful not to catch tropical diseases. And we often failed, despite our precautions… We wondered how James Bond managed to stay healthy. “. Teun Bousema, a researcher at Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
Research on the article, titled No Time to Die: In-depth analysis of James Bond’s exposure to infectious agents The authors note that “the 3113 minutes of the evening each author could easily have spent on more pressing social issues”.
They analyzed a total of 86 international itineraries, including trips to 47 countries.
It’s perhaps not surprising that Bond doesn’t appear to be contagious, given his ability to regularly survive all sorts of deadly threats. However, while Bond’s situations are quite extreme, the authors point out that travel-related distraction is the norm.
“The serious message is that we often think of ourselves as sacrosanct when we travel,” says Bousema.
Bond’s sketchy sexual exploits were mentioned for the first time as one of the “more obvious risk factors for communicable disease exposure while on business.” Typically, the authors note that Bond’s relationships with women were “short-lived, with little time for a healthy exchange of sexual history” and little suggestion that he used condoms. Furthermore, the authors observed that 27.1% of Bond’s partners die at some point in the film, though not necessarily from unsafe sex.
While Bond escaped on his own, unscathed, without any ideas, Bousema said: “Many sexually transmitted infections are on the rise among young people and especially during travel. history, many people have casual, often unprotected sex.”
James Bond (Daniel Craig) in No Time To Die handles raw fish. In other movies, he doesn’t wash his hands after handling raw chicken, risking bacterial infections including Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Clostridium.
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James Bond (Daniel Craig) in No Time To Die handles raw fish. In other movies, he doesn’t wash his hands after handling raw chicken, risking bacterial infections including Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Clostridium.
Nicola Dove / DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM
Bond also managed to survive some startlingly neglected hand hygiene and food safety practices, leading researchers to call him “the man with the guts of gold”. On a trip to Louisiana Bayou in Live and let die, he doesn’t wash his hands after handling raw chicken, thus risking bacterial contamination, including Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Clostridium. He is also “repeatedly at risk of contracting Vibriosis, norovirus and hepatitis from eating undercooked oysters.”
All of these largely preventable infections can lead to acute and sometimes severe diarrhea, which would place a big deal on Bond’s often-repressed world-saving agenda. They are also the most common cause of travel-related health problems in the real world.
“Being careful about what a person eats and washing their hands can prevent a lot of discomfort and sometimes also dangerous situations,” Bousema warns.
007 also failed to “take even the most basic precautions” against insect-bite diseases, such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya, which are endemic in some tourist destinations His calendar includes the Bahamas, Jamaica, and India, respectively. And, he sometimes falls for medical misinformation, such as using saline to repel mosquitoes, when in fact an insecticide like diethyltoluamide (DEET) is the better choice.
Here, Bousema offers quantum advice. “Vector-borne diseases are on the rise and the risk can actually be greatly reduced with good precautions. Prevention of mosquito bites, beware of ticks!”
Bond’s carefree interactions with potentially disease-carrying creatures such as rats, cats, snakes, and aggressive and potentially rabid dogs, also arouse anxiety. The authors speculate that brain changes caused by infection with toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by a parasite found in animal feces, “could explain Bond’s often foolish bravery in the face of impending danger life threatening.”
Even the most recent Bond movie, There’s no time to die, which was filmed before COVID-19 (although it has significant archaic elements). However, investigators still fault Bond for the lack of drip precautions because the 1957-58 H2N2 flu pandemic occurred less than a decade before the first Bond films. While Bond sometimes wears a mask for various reasons, in one case he was actually wearing a mask that was recently used by someone else.
James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Paloma (Ana de Armas) in No Time To Die. Typically, Bond’s romantic relationships are “short-lived, with little time for a healthy exchange of sexual history” and little hint that he uses condoms, the study authors note. .
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James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Paloma (Ana de Armas) in No Time To Die. Typically, Bond’s romantic relationships are “short-lived, with little time for a healthy exchange of sexual history” and little hint that he uses condoms, the study authors note. .
Nicola Dove / DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM
“COVID-19 has shown us how quickly respiratory infections can spread and the important role travel plays in this spread. Caution, as in the post-pandemic period, remains important. This will continue to include avoiding crowds or close encounters when there are any pathogens present, Bousema said.
Bousema speculates that Bond may have some difficulty handling the COVID-19 restrictions. “He enjoys crowds, busy casinos and social events. He will struggle there, and I see great challenges for him working from home. It’s not in his DNA. he.”
But, Bond can accept a COVID vaccine. “He was seen getting microvascular injections in the movie Casino Royale. In that sense, conspiracy theories about being traceable after a COVID shot may have actually convinced him to get vaccinated,” Bousema joked.
The article also lists some of Bond’s other dangerous behaviors, such as diving without precautions for decompression sickness, the risk of dehydration from drinking alcohol while engaging in extreme activities in climates. warm, and was never seen wearing sunscreen despite spending a lot of time in the sun. However, the authors give him credit for frequently wearing sunglasses.
The health risks from Bonds’ excessive smoking and drinking habits have actually been studied by other investigators and published in medical journals, including one as reported by NPR in 2013. The present study is the first to comprehensively assess Bond’s occupational exposure to infectious disease. And the researchers worry: “Given the limited time Bond received to prepare for the missions, we urgently ask his MI6 owner to take his responsibilities seriously,” they wrote. .
Ultimately, says Bousema, although it may be too late for Bond, other world travelers can learn from his many near-missing people: “Think about the health risks and prepare luggage as well as hygiene during travel. Preparation is everything.”
After all, as the study authors note, we only live once.
