. . . Currently, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention recommend the use of N95 respirators (a mask that fits closely to the face) for protection from the 2009 H1N1virus. The recommendation is based on the assumption that these respirators efficiently filter airborne droplets that carry the virus, thus protecting the wearer from infected individuals.
However, Gerald C Smaldone, MD, PhD and Keith T. Diaz, MD, researchers at Stony Brook University Medical Center, conducted experiments that showed N95 respirators do not achieve the close fit to the face necessary to prevent airborne droplets from breaching the gap between the skin and the mask of uninfected individuals.
What?s more, the research shows that basic surgical masks worn by potentially infectious individuals may do a better job of preventing H1N1 spread by deflecting exhaled viruses away from those around them. ?For exhaled particles, our study demonstrates the value of manipulating the source rather than trying to simply protect the receiver," say the authors.
