Aluminium Gauze Reduces SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in Non-Woven Masks Worn by Patients with COVID-19

Aluminium Gauze Reduces SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in Non-Woven Masks Worn by Patients with COVID-19

Blog Article

Background: Aluminium reduces severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) survival in experimental settings.It is unknown whether adding an aluminium gauze to a mask reduces the SARS-CoV-2 RNA load in the mask and whether SARS-CoV-2 is detectable in the breath that permeates through such a mask in clinical settings.Methods: Patients admitted to Kishiwada prints City Hospital, Osaka, Japan, between July 2021 and September 2021 were enrolled in the study.

Non-woven masks comprising filters with 99% viral filtration efficacy and aluminium and cotton gauzes attached to plastic collection cases were developed.All participants wore the experimental mask models for three hours.Results: Twenty-nine patients who wore the final model masks were analysed in this study.

The Ct values of the nucleocapsid gene and envelope gene of SARS-CoV-2 were significantly higher in the ORG TEA TREE DEODORANT SPRAY aluminium gauze than in the cotton gauze.SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in the masks of 8 out of 12 vaccinated patients (66.7%).

Although breath condensates were collected behind both aluminium and cotton gauzes, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in these condensates.Conclusions: Our study indicated that non-woven masks with an aluminium gauze may obstruct SARS-CoV-2 transmission in clinical settings better than non-woven masks with cotton gauzes.