We humans love to scare ourselves. Newspapers and TV news are full of shock-horror stories about the killer flu virus but are there things we can do to cut our risk of catching it? Every year, people in Britain catch the flu virus and some of those who are already ill, or are very young, may die. It is very sad, but modern treatment means that many deaths can be avoided. Experts tell us that the world is another flu epidemic and that the latest bird-flu virus would be the most likely cause. Humans can catch the disease only after closely contacting with a sick bird. However, if someone who had normal flu was to come into contact with bird flu, this could be very dangerous. The bird flu virus could attach itself to the human flu virus, _ and then start to spread from person to person. Coughs and sneezes always have spread diseases, especially colds and flu, and they still do. If bird flu does begin to infect humans, it will spread through coughs and sneezes. If you want to stay free of flu and someone coughs or sneezes at you, what should you do? First, keep your hands away from your face and wash them and your face as soon as you can. If a cough or a sneeze spray misses your face and you accidentally touch a droplet with your hands and then touch your face, the flu or cold bug could creep into your system. The chances of most people catching bird flu are very small because   _  .
they are strong enough to resist the infection only after closely contacting a sick bird can they be infected bird flu does not happen very often in the world only those who are ill can be infected