What's in a cough? 20,000 viruses

HONG KONG: The next time you cough or sneeze, there is good reason to cover your mouth.

As many as 20,000 viruses are expelled in an average cough, which may be sufficient to infect many people - particularly those who are not vaccinated.

Julian Tang, a consultant at Singapore's National University Hospital's Division of Microbiology, said as many as 3,000 tiny droplets are produced in a standard cough.