Part 1 of 3

You can get infected by germs in many different ways.

1.  By germs that travel person to person:

• Through the air, as in coughing or sneezing.  Colds and flu are spread this way.

• By mouth to mouth contact, such eating or drinking from the same utensil or container or by kissing, More than 500 types of bacteria live in the mouth.

• By touching infectious material such as feces which can get onto your hands and remain there to be transferred to your mouth, or to a doorknob, or to a cooking surface where someone else may pick up the germs. 

• It also is possible to pick up cold viruses from shaking someone's hand or from touching     surfaces such as a door knob, handrail, or telephone.

Adapted from http://www.niaid.nih.gov/publications/microbes.htm#a