Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "Agostino Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, L.go F. Vito 1, Rome 00168, Italy.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2021 Jan 7;115(1):74-77. doi: 10.1093/trstmh/traa085.
In East Asia, face masks are commonly worn to reduce viral spread. In Euope and North America, however, their use has been stigmatised for a long time, although this view has radically changed during the ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Notwithstanding this, it is still unclear whether face masks worn by COVID-19 carriers may indeed prevent viral transmission and environmental contamination. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of surgical face masks in filtering SARS-CoV-2.
Four male patients with COVID-19 were recruited for the study. Two patients wore a surgical mask for 5 h, while two others did not. The spread of the virus in the environment was evaluated through the approved Allplex 2019-nCoV assay.
In the room with the two patients without surgical masks, the swab performed on the headboard and sides of the beds was positive for SARS-CoV-2 contamination. In the other room, where two patients were wearing surgical masks, all of the swabs obtained after 5 h tested negative.
The results of the current study add to the growing body of literature supporting the use of face masks as a measure to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by retaining potentially contagious droplets that can infect other people and/or contaminate surfaces. Based on the current evidence, face masks should therefore be considered a useful and low-cost device in addition to social distancing and hand hygiene during the postlockdown phase.
在东亚，人们通常佩戴口罩以减少病毒传播。然而，在欧洲和北美，口罩的使用长期以来一直受到污名化，尽管在当前严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）大流行期间，这种观点已经发生了根本性的变化。尽管如此，佩戴口罩的 COVID-19 携带者是否确实可以防止病毒传播和环境污染，目前仍不清楚。本研究旨在评估外科口罩过滤 SARS-CoV-2 的效果。
招募了 4 名患有 COVID-19 的男性患者参与研究。其中 2 名患者佩戴外科口罩 5 小时，而另外 2 名患者则不佩戴。通过批准的 Allplex 2019-nCoV 检测评估病毒在环境中的传播情况。
在未佩戴外科口罩的两名患者所在的房间中，床头板和床边的拭子检测到 SARS-CoV-2 污染呈阳性。在另外一个房间中，两名患者佩戴了外科口罩，5 小时后所有的拭子检测均为阴性。
本研究结果进一步证实了口罩作为一种控制 SARS-CoV-2 传播的措施的有效性，因为口罩可以截留可能感染他人和/或污染表面的具有传染性的飞沫。基于目前的证据，口罩应被视为在解除封锁阶段除保持社交距离和手部卫生外的一种有用且低成本的设备。
