Fabric face masks are useful for protecting against novel coronavirus – but if you wash them after each use, a new study has found that reusing these facial ingots without re-washing can increase the risk of contamination.
In addition, according to an analysis by the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, an analysis by the Kirby Institute of Sydney, recently published at the BMJ Open, the full information must be washed off the mask at the highest temperature after each use.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says the cloth face mask will be washed with laundry detergent and at least 60 degrees Celsius or about 140 degrees Fahrenheit water. (iStock)
This analysis is based on a randomized controlled trial published in 2015 that focused on how to effectively prevent viral infections such as the flu, rhinovirus (common cold virus) and seasonal coronavirus. The study, conducted at the time, found that two-layer cotton masks “are not as effective as surgical masks in a hospital setting and compared to wearing masks when they were potentially increasing the risk of infection,” according to a university news release. However, researchers conducting the new analysis now argue that the way the cloth masks were washed may explain why they performed so poorly in the original study.
More specifically, the so-called “washing data” was self-reported in 2011 by health care workers in Vietnam, who at the time were working in “high-risk wards of health care,” according to a news release. According to the researchers who conducted the analysis, this study is the only randomized controlled trial conducted on the effectiveness of cloth masks to prevent viral infections.
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The majority of health care workers in the original study – about 77% – reported washing their masks by hand. But in the analysis, the researchers found that health care workers had twice the risk of infection when their clothes were washed in this way compared to face masks when they were washed in a hospital laundry machine.
What’s more, “there was no significant difference between the infections [health care workers] Who wears cloth masks in hospital laundry as compared to medical masks, ”the analysis concluded.
Indeed: “In view of the potential effects for health workers or community members using clothing masks during an epidemic, we dived deeper into our 2011 data on whether health workers in our study washed their masks daily, and if so, how they Washing their masks. We found that if cloth masks were washed in a hospital laundry, they were as effective as surgical masks, “said University of New South Wales – Sydney professor Raina May Kantier, who conducted the study, in a statement.
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The researchers in the original study did not test for SARS-COVID-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, because the virus did not exist at the time. But researchers who analyzed BMJ openly argue that past findings may still apply to the novel virus.
“Both cloth masks and surgical masks should be considered ‘contaminated’ after use,” said McIntyre. “Unlike surgical masks, which are disposed of after use, cloth masks are reused. Although the same mask may be tempted to use it continuously for several days or to wash or clean it quickly, our research suggests that this increases the risk of contamination. ”
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“This has become a clear point for discussion around textile masks between pro- and anti-mask groups, both of which have focused their 2015 study on their arguments – but a more detailed look at washing data suggests that hand-washing fabrics The mask is dangerous, rather than a cloth mask. When we break down the data in this new way, comparing machine and washing shingles with hand washing, a machine-washing cloth mask is just as effective as a surgical mask, “Mac Kinter added. “A lot of research has been done on the design, fabric and construction of the mask, but washing is also important for safety.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) says cloth face masks should be washed with laundry detergent and at least 60 degrees Celsius or about 140 degrees Fahrenheit water.
“The results of our analysis support this recommendation,” said Mac Kinter. “The clear message of this research is that cloth masks work – but once a cloth mask is worn, it must be washed properly each time before being re-worn, otherwise it ceases to be effective.”
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