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http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/...during-flu-season/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
Who Should Wear a Mask During Flu Season?
By TARA PARKER-POPE SEPTEMBER 14, 2009 12:30 PMSeptember 14, 2009 12:30 pm
Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times Flu anxiety this spring prompted many people to don masks.
In the midst of the swine flu scare, people around the world have been photographed wearing surgical masks in hopes of protecting themselves from exposure.
But it appears that the wrong people are wearing the masks.
The flimsy masks do little to protect the wearer from contracting the flu virus. A surgical mask can, however, potentially limit the spread of influenza if the sick person is wearing it, according to research presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.
“If you’re wearing a mask to prevent yourself from catching it, they’re not so effective,” said Dr. M. Lindsay Grayson, professor of medicine at the University of Melbourne and one of the study’s co-authors. “But if you’re sick with the flu and coughing and sputtering, those masks do prevent you from spraying those bugs everywhere.”
The researchers asked nine study subjects with documented cases of influenza type A or B to test two different types of masks — the standard, disposable surgical masks and a more costly, respirator-style mask. The flu patients coughed into a petri dish while wearing both types of mask as well as without the mask. The dish was then tested for the presence of flu virus. When either type of mask was worn, no virus was detected on the petri dish.
“Surgical masks are designed to trap respiratory secretions (including bacteria and viruses) expelled by the wearer and prevent disease transmission to others,” the study authors wrote. “Surgical masks are not designed to prevent inhalation of airborne particles.”
Researchers say the masks likely aren’t as effective in protecting people from catching the virus because most flu appears to be spread by large droplets or through hand-to-face contact. But when it comes to preventing the spread of flu in the home, families may benefit if the sick family member wears the mask to prevent further contamination of surfaces and to reduce the risk of a cough or sneeze spraying droplets on others.
Ariel Kaminer Patrick Andrade for The New York Times Ariel Kaminer
Although masks and protective gear aren’t recommended to protect people from exposure to flu virus, marketers continue to promote them. City Critic columnist Ariel Kaminer writes about her experiences wearing a mask, goggles and jump suit from a $69 kit made by Flu Armour as she walked around New York City. Read her column, “What Not to Wear When Worrying About the Flu.”