Can a Surgical Mask Protect You from SARS?
Separating Fact from Fiction about Surgical Masks and SARS
April 29, 2003 -- The images of mask-covered men, women, and children have been linked with SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) since the outbreak began. Sales of the paper masks have soared in areas hardest hit by SARS as people try to protect themselves from an unknown enemy. But how much protection can a simple mask offer from SARS?
Despite their popularity in Asia, experts say standard surgical masks -- the inexpensive square masks that tie behind your head -- are probably more effective in preventing people with SARS from spreading the disease than protecting healthy people from becoming infected.
CDC director Julie Gerberding, MD, says surgical masks are useful in filtering out relatively large particles of moist materials that you cough up or sneeze, which reduces the likelihood of passing SARS to another person.
"That's the reason why we recommend that those masks be used for patients with SARS because it contains their secretions and prevents them from being disseminated in the environment," says Gerberding.
Infectious disease expert Jon Temte, MD, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin says the pictures of people in Beijing and Hong Kong wearing surgical masks remind him of the influenza pandemic of 1918.
"I remember looking at old photos from the 1918 influenza pandemic and seeing people wearing masks everywhere," says Temte. "But that was never shown to be effective for preventing the spread of influenza."
Temte says it's really to early to know whether masks are an effective way to protect against SARS. Researchers simply don't know enough about the virus and how it spreads.
"On the flip side, there is probably not a whole lot of harm in it," Temte tells WebMD. "Any sort of barrier will reduce likelihood of droplet transmission."
Health officials at the World Health Organization and CDC believe SARS is spread primarily by close contact with droplets from an infected person.
"So if we're looking at a viral transfer on the basis of coughing up small droplets, when that droplet travels the distance between the person and the unlucky recipient and lands on fertile ground, you have transmission," says Temte.
Can a Mask Protect You from SARS?
Separating Fact from Fiction about Surgical Masks and SARS
April 29, 2003 -- The images of mask-covered men, women, and children have been linked with SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) since the outbreak began. Sales of the paper masks have soared in areas hardest hit by SARS as people try to protect themselves from an unknown enemy. But how much protection can a simple mask offer from SARS?
Despite their popularity in Asia, experts say standard surgical masks -- the inexpensive square masks that tie behind your head -- are probably more effective in preventing people with SARS from spreading the disease than protecting healthy people from becoming infected.
CDC director Julie Gerberding, MD, says surgical masks are useful in filtering out relatively large particles of moist materials that you cough up or sneeze, which reduces the likelihood of passing SARS to another person.
"That's the reason why we recommend that those masks be used for patients with SARS because it contains their secretions and prevents them from being disseminated in the environment," says Gerberding.
Infectious disease expert Jon Temte, MD, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin says the pictures of people in Beijing and Hong Kong wearing surgical masks remind him of the influenza pandemic of 1918.
"I remember looking at old photos from the 1918 influenza pandemic and seeing people wearing masks everywhere," says Temte. "But that was never shown to be effective for preventing the spread of influenza."
Temte says it's really to early to know whether masks are an effective way to protect against SARS. Researchers simply don't know enough about the virus and how it spreads.
"On the flip side, there is probably not a whole lot of harm in it," Temte tells WebMD. "Any sort of barrier will reduce likelihood of droplet transmission."
Health officials at the World Health Organization and CDC believe SARS is spread primarily by close contact with droplets from an infected person.
"So if we're looking at a viral transfer on the basis of coughing up small droplets, when that droplet travels the distance between the person and the unlucky recipient and lands on fertile ground, you have transmission," says Temte.
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