[ad_1]
Virus spray chamber installed in BSL3 facility
A research group led by Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka from the Department of Infections and Immunology of the Institute of Medical Sciences of the University of Tokyo, announced the results of verifying the protective effect of the masks against the new corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) .
The experiment was carried out in 3 biosafety level (BSL) facilities and a chamber capable of injecting SARS-CoV-2 was developed. A mannequin with an artificial respirator was installed for verification.
The release side is equipped with a device that can release SARS-CoV-2 from the mouth in droplet or aerosol form at the same rate as human cough, and the inhalation side is equipped with a device that collects viruses made from gelatin film in the airway. The amount of virus passing through the mask was examined.
As a result, when the mask was attached to the suction side, it was suppressed by 60 to 80% with the cloth mask and 10 to 20% with the N95 mask in close contact, compared to the case without the mask. However, the effect was reduced when the N95 mask did not adhere.
Difference in the amount of virus inhalation according to distance
The effect when the suction side wears a mask. The N95 mask has a high protective effect, but the effect is reduced if it is not fitted correctly
On the other hand, when a mask is placed on the virus expulsion side, the amount of virus inhaled is greatly reduced. Therefore, it was suggested that the mask is more effective in reducing the exposure of humans facing it than the function of suppressing the inhalation of the virus. When masks are placed on both, the amount of virus inhaled can be synergistically reduced.
If the discharge side wears a mask, the amount of exposure to the suction side can be significantly reduced.
However, in this experiment, a high concentration virus was sprayed to ensure quantification, and the amount of virus contained in the exhaled breath of an actual infected person is unknown. Therefore, when an experiment was conducted in which the amount of virus sprayed was gradually reduced, the infectious virus that passed through all the masks was below the detection limit.
At low concentrations, infectious viruses that passed through both masks were below the limit of detection.
However, since the virus gene was detected when wearing any mask, further testing is needed to determine if the virus actually penetrates the mask and causes the infection.
[ad_2]
