Evaluation of survival rates of airborne microorganisms on the filter layers of commercial face masks.
Indoor Air
; 31(4): 1134-1143, 2021 07.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1120940
ABSTRACT
After the WHO designated COVID-19 a global pandemic, face masks have become a precious commodity worldwide. However, uncertainty remains around several details regarding face masks, including the potential for transmission of bioaerosols depending on the type of mask and secondary spread by face masks. Thus, understanding the interplay between face mask structure and harmful bioaerosols is essential for protecting public health. Here, we evaluated the microbial survival rate at each layer of commercial of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and surgical masks (SMs) using bacterial bioaerosols. The penetration efficiency of bacterial particles for FFRs was lower than that for SMs; however, the microbial survival rate for all tested masks was >13%, regardless of filtration performance. Most bacterial particles survived in the filter layer (44%-77%) (e.g., the core filtering layer); the outer layer also exhibited significant survival rates (18%-29%). Most notably, survival rates were determined for the inner layers (<1% for FFRs, 3%-16% for SMs), which are in contact with the respiratory tract. Our comparisons of the permeability and survival rate of bioaerosols in each layer will contribute to bioaerosol-face mask research, while also providing information to facilitate the establishment of a mask-reuse protocol.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Masks
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Indoor Air
Journal subject:
Environmental Health
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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