There is no difference in flu rates between those who take public transport like buses and trains and those who do not, say researchers. But they found that those with children are more likely to develop flu.
In a study, the researchers asked 28,000 people throughout Europe to record whether or not they experienced flu-like symptoms last winter, and matched their answers back to information the volunteers had given about their lifestyles.
Advertisement"Last year we found no difference in the chance of reporting a flu-like illness in people who took public transport and people who did not," the Telegraph quoted Dr Alma Adler, research fellow in the school's department of infectious disease Epidemiology, as saying.
"In fact, people not taking public transport reported marginally higher rates," Dr Adler noted.
While the team's research appears to crush one assumption about how to avoid flu, it confirms another: that those with children get it more than others.
People with children were 14 per cent more likely to report flu-like symptoms than those of a similar age who did not.