Flu Spreads By Who Kids Play With, Not Sit Near

A new study debunks some commonly held believes about how kids pass on the flu to other kids, and to their parents, NYT reports.

Contrary to popular belief, they didn’t catch it from sitting near other sick kids, and adults who got sick didn’t get it from their own infected kids. In addition, closing the school after the influenza was in swing didn’t really slow infection rates either. Rather, the flu was more likely to spread through kids’ social networks.

In other words, you get the flu from whom you play with, not whom you sit next to.

What’s a Little Swine Flu Outbreak Among Friends? [NYT]

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