Transmission of influenza: implications for control in health care settings.

Annual influenza epidemics in the United States result in an average of 136,000 deaths and 114,000 hospitalizations. Although droplet transmission is thought to be the primary mode of influenza transmission, limited evidence is available to support the relative clinical importance of contact, droplet, and droplet nuclei (airborne) transmission of influenza. In this article, the results of studies on the modes of influenza transmission and their relevant isolation precautions are reviewed. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2003; 37, 1094-1101.