Testing of commonly available fabric masks has found they significantly reduce the number of aerosolised viruses a wearer could be exposed to.
Testing of commonly available fabric masks has found they significantly reduce the number of aerosolised viruses a wearer could be exposed to.
The Flinders University study, published in Pathogens, found even the poorest performing mask filtered at least 50% of viruses.
The viral filtration (VFE) was calculated for two sizes of aerosols, 6 microns (VFE 6 μm) ), which is the size of aerosols produced by coughing, and 2.6 microns (VFE 2.6 μm), which are small enough to be inhaled into the lower respiratory system.
The best performing fabric masks filtered 97% to 99% of the virus numbers – at both VFE measures, with one mask performing at 98.6% (VFE 6.0 μm) and 99.1% (VFE 2.6 μm) when made according to the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services guidelines with two layers of reusable shopping bag fabric and one layer of cotton.
Read more at Flinders University
Photo Credit: lukasz_gl via Pixabay
