We may cringe when someone near us sneezes or coughs suspiciously during flu season—but as a new study suggests, the flu may be spread just by breathing around someone who’s already infected with the virus. This is because “infectious aerosols,” or tiny droplets containing active virus, can hang out in the air after being exhaled. So even if you avoid public sneezers and coughers like the plague, you may still catch the flu virus just by being in the vicinity of someone who has it.