Decontamination of surgical face masks and N95 respirators by dry heat pasteurization for one hour at 70°C.
Am J Infect Control
; 48(8): 880-882, 2020 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-472917
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The need for protective masks greatly exceeds their global supply during the current COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS:
We optimized the temperature used in the dry heat pasteurization method to destroy pathogens and decontaminate masks while retaining their filtering capacity.RESULTS:
The current study showed that dry heat at both 60°C and 70°C for 1 hour could successfully kill 6 species of respiratory bacteria and one fungi species, and inactivate the H1N1 indicator virus. After being heated at 70°C for 1, 2, and 3 hours, the N95 respirators and surgical face masks showed no changes in their shape and components. The filtering efficiency of bacterial aerosol for N95 respirators were 98%, 98%, and 97% after being heated for 1, 2, and 3 hour, respectively, all of which were over the 95% efficiency required and similar to the value before being heated (99%). The filtering efficiency for surgical face masks was 97%, 97%, and 96% for 1, 2, and 3 hours of heating, respectively, all of which were also similar to the value before being heated (97%).CONCLUSIONS:
This method can be used at home and can significantly resolve the current shortage of masks.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Respiratory Protective Devices
/
Decontamination
/
Pasteurization
/
Masks
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Infect Control
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.ajic.2020.05.026
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS