Relative efficacy of masks and respirators as source control for viral aerosol shedding from people infected with SARS-CoV-2: a controlled human exhaled breath aerosol experimental study

Tight-fitting masks and respirators, in manikin studies, improved aerosol source control compared to loose-fitting masks. Whether this translates to humans is not known. We compared efficacy of masks (cloth and surgical) and respirators (KN95 and N95) as source control for SARS-CoV-2 viral load in e...

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Published in:EBioMedicine 2024-06, Vol.104, p.105157, Article 105157
Main Authors: Lai, Jianyu, Coleman, Kristen K., Tai, S.-H. Sheldon, German, Jennifer, Hong, Filbert, Albert, Barbara, Esparza, Yi, Rastogi, Dewansh, Srikakulapu, Aditya, Kalliomäki, Petri, Schanz, Maria, Smith, Alycia A., Sierra Maldonado, Isabel, Oertel, Molly, Fadul, Naja, Gold, T. Louie, McPhaul, Kathleen, Ma, Tianzhou, Cowling, Benjamin J., Milton, Donald K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Exhaled breath aerosols
Respirators
SARS-CoV-2
Source control
Surgical masks
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Summary:Tight-fitting masks and respirators, in manikin studies, improved aerosol source control compared to loose-fitting masks. Whether this translates to humans is not known. We compared efficacy of masks (cloth and surgical) and respirators (KN95 and N95) as source control for SARS-CoV-2 viral load in exhaled breath of volunteers with COVID-19 using a controlled human experimental study. Volunteers (N = 44, 43% female) provided paired unmasked and masked breath samples allowing computation of source-control factors. All masks and respirators significantly reduced exhaled viral load, without fit tests or training. A duckbill N95 reduced exhaled viral load by 98% (95% CI: 97%–99%), and significantly outperformed a KN95 (p 
ISSN:2352-3964
2352-3964
DOI:10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105157