Surgical masks the best SARS guard: study

Surgical-quality face masks, but not paper ones, offer the best protection against the SARS virus, according to a new study.

Surgical-quality face masks, but not paper ones, offer the best protection against the SARS virus, according to a new study.Doctors at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, one of the epicentres for the SARS scare, looked at the precautions taken by 254 colleagues who had been exposed to 11 people infected with the pneumonia-like disease.Their findings are reported in the next issue of The Lancet, the British medical weekly.The participants were quizzed closely as to whether they had followed recommendations to wear a mask, gloves and gown and scrupulously wash their hands when caring for SARS patients. Of the 241 staff members who were uninfected, 69 had obeyed all four recommendations.The 13 infected staff had omitted at least one measure but there was a common denominator: they had not worn a surgical mask.The findings add significantly to evidence that severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by respiratory droplets transmitted to people in close proximity, the authors say.”Droplets are generated at the face level, making the mask crucial for protection,” they say.They also conclude emphatically that paper masks – widely on sale in China, Hong Kong and other Asian cities where there has been a SARS breakout – are not up to the task of keeping the SARS virus away from the nose and mouth.Two of the 13 infected staff had worn paper masks(Source: ABC, : Friday, May 2, 2003. 9:39am (AEST))