The flu spreads very easily : no need to cough or sneeze

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Published the 19.01.2018 at 18: 45

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People usually think that they may catch the flu by being exposed to coughing, sneezing or talking to them from an infected person or by touching surfaces contaminated with their handkerchiefs or their hands. But it is also spread more simply than that.

A new study provides new evidence of the potential importance of the transmission of the virus by breathing. This is explained by the large quantities of infectious virus found in the breath of people suffering from the flu.
“We’ve found that people infected with the flu contaminating the air around them with the virus just by breathing, and without cough or sneeze,” explains Dr. Milton, senior author of the study. “People with flu generate infectious aerosols even when they cough, especially during the first days of the disease.”

Tips to preserve

The results of the study suggest that the insistence on cleanliness, washing hands all the time, and avoid people who cough does not provide full protection against the flu.
On the other hand, stay home, and out of public spaces, helps fight against the spread of the flu virus. According to the authors, the results could be used to improve the mathematical models of the risk of transmission of influenza in people with diseases symptomatic.
Improvements could be made also to ventilation systems, to reduce the risk of transmission in offices, classrooms and the subway, for example. During this time, the researchers insist on staying at home, if possible, when we begin to fall ill.

These data limit the effectiveness of “gestures barrier” promoted by the Ministry of health, but do not question their effectiveness.