Myth busted! You do not catch flu if you use public transport

Doctors suggest that, in spite of popular belief, people who use public transport are no more likely to catch flu than those who drive or cycle.

In fact, people who do not take public transport are slightly more likely to catch it than the poor souls who cram themselves into trains and buses every morning, according to a research.

A survey of nearly 6,000 British people undertaken by doctors from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that there was "absolutely no indication" that buses and trains are the hotbed of viruses they are often thought to be, the Independent reported.

Dr Alma Adler, a researcher in the field of infectious diseases, said that the results "discount [an] age old myth".

"Intuitively it might not be what you'd expect," she said.

"But how often does someone actually sneeze in your face on the Tube? It's believed the droplets of flu in the air are a less effective way of spreading the disease than touching - and people don't do much face-to-face interaction on public transport," she added.