The influenza virus is very contagious, so it gets around quickly. Every winter, many people get the flu and recover from it within a few days. The virus spreads through contaminated droplets in the air and on dirty hands.

Children can be exposed in many ways, such as by contact with "sniffly" family members, by a clerk's sneeze at the grocery store, by playing with ill children at daycare or by picking up a sister's used tissue.

People are most contagious in the 24 hours right before they become ill, so they don't even know they're spreading the infection. That's why it's hard to avoid getting the flu, especially during flu season.

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