Doctors Warn Flu Spreading Easier Than Thought

Covering that sneeze or cough might not be enough to keep germs away from your neighbor when you've got a case of the flu. Recent studies have shown that those suffering from the seasonal virus can give off germ particles through the air as close as six feet away.

With the fancy term Influenza, the infectious disease that can hit birds and mammals alike, is stubbornly remembered for a fever, headache and scratchy throat.

However, a recent study has helped provide a little insight into just how easily these germs are spread. Conducted by Werner Bischoff of the Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, the study screened 94 patients with flu symptoms who were admitted to the emergency department or inpatient care unit at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center during the 2010-2011 flu season.

Air samples were collected within one foot, three feet and six feet of the patients screened. The number of times patients coughed or sneezed was also recorded and rated for the severity of the symptoms. The patients also answered questions about their condition and how long they had been sick.

The study found that 65 percent of the patients tested positive for flu, and of those, 43 percent released particles containing that virus back into the air. Some patients gave up to 32 times more virus than other patients, according to Bischoff, and were thus, more likely to spread the flu than other patients.

With this and other studies showing new discoveries about the way germs are spread, health providers are hoping that new and safer precautions can be taken to prevent future health problems.