Given that COVID-19 is not gone yet and we want to be as prepared as possible for the next potential pandemic, new research into the most effective types of face masks has provided some important insights and there are clear winners.
A team led by researchers at the University of Maryland in the United States tested 44 volunteers infected with COVID-19. health II A machine that can measure the number of virus particles in exhaled breath.
Four different masks were tested this way, and participants were asked to vary their vocalizations while wearing the mask – in one test, for example, singing “Happy Birthday.” Each volunteer completed a 30-minute breathing session wearing the mask and another 30-minute session without a mask as a control.
Of the four masks tested, Duckbill N95 Mask The results showed that the N95 came out on top, stopping 99 percent of larger particles and 98 percent of smaller particles from being released into the air. Overall, 98 percent of the viral load was blocked by the N95.
“Research shows that any mask is much better than no mask, and the N95 is far better than other options.” To tell Donald Milton, an environmental health scientist and clinician at the University of Maryland;
“That’s the No. 1 message.”
The researchers compared cloth masks (blocking 87% of the viral load), surgical masks (74%), and KN95 mask (71%). While wearing any mask is clearly better than nothing, masks make a big difference.
It was somewhat surprising that the widely recommended KN95-type mask ranked last, but the researchers suggested that the amount of breath escaping through the sides of the mask contributed to its low score.
But N95 mask types generally received high scores, and researchers attributed their success to the mask’s filtering power, the mask’s edges that fit snugly against the skin, and the mask’s extra breathing room.
“Data from our study suggest that people with mild COVID-19 symptoms exhale more than twice the amount of infectious air per hour when not wearing a mask.” To tell “But if you wear an N95 mask, the risk drops exponentially,” says Jianyu Lai, an epidemiologist at the University of Maryland.
This particular study did not look at viral particles traveling in the opposite direction — in other words, how much protection the mask would offer the wearer against viral particles that may currently be circulating in the air.
The types of masks included in the study were also limited, and the authors To tell These “should not be considered representative of all N95, KN95 respirators, and surgical masks.”
In addition to vaccinations, masks play an important role in limiting the spread of respiratory pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, and the more data we can collect on different types of masks, the better.
“Duckbill N95 masks should become the standard of care in high-risk settings such as nursing homes and health care settings.” To tell Lie.
“Now, the next time there’s an outbreak of a serious respiratory virus, we know exactly how this simple, inexpensive solution can help limit its spread.”
This study Electronic Biomedicine.