TERRY SATER REPORTS. >> DAY FIVE, SURGICAL MASK, TRIAL ONE. TERRY: DUKE UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS TESTED A VARIETY OF MASKS, USING A LASER TO SHOW THE DISEASE PARTICLES SPREAD BY PEOPLE, EVEN DURING NORMAL CONVERSATION. >> BY COUNTING THE LIGHT FLASHES , YOU GET AN IDEA OF HOW MANY DROPLETS YOU EMIT. TERRY: WE WANT TO DEMO -- TO KNOW WHICH MASKS YOU SHOULDN’T BUY. DR. WESTMAN: IF IT IS A ONE LAYER, SPANDEX, POLYESTER, STRETCHY FABRIC THAT YOU CAN BREATHE EASILY THROUGH AND BLOW OUT A CANDLE THROUGH IT, THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE PROTECTING VERY WELL. TERRY: RESEARCHERS TESTED 14 COMMONLY AVAILABLE MASKS. AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT, THICKER MASKS WORKED BETTE DR. WESTMAN: THE COTTON MASK, FOR EXAMPLE. WE TESTED A RANGE OF COTTON MASKS, JUST A COUPLE OF THAT WE HAD. THEY BLOCKED ABOUT 80% OF THE DROPLETS, WHICH OF COURSE IS PERFECTLY FINE FOR EVERY DAY USE. TERRY: RESEARCHERS SAY ONE OF THE MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY REVEALED THAT, OTHER THAN A SINGLE LAYER GAITER LIKE THIS, JUST ABOUT ANY MASK IS BETTER THAN NO MASK. BUT THE SINGLE LAYER FABRIC NECK GAITER THEY TESTED PROVED SURPRISINGLY BAD >> THAT SPECIFIC MASK WE ACTUALLY SAW WHAT SEEMED TO BE AN INCREASE IN THE PARTICLE NUMBERS. TERRY: THE SINGLE LAYER OF FABRIC EMITTED SMALLER PARTICLES, WHICH STAYED IN THE AIR LONGER, POTENTIALLY SPREADING MORE CORONAVIRUS. DR. FISCHER: THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER GAITERS OUT THERE. THERE ARE SOME THAT HAVE THICKER MATERIAL. IF YOU DOUBLE THEM UP, IF YOU FOLD THEM OVER YOU HAVE MORE LAYERS. OR MAYBE YOU WEAR TWO OF THOSE GATORS. TERRY: RESEARCHERS SAY MORE EXTENSIVE TESTING NEEDS TO BE DONE. TERRY SATER, WISN 12 NEW JOYCE: THE DUKE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH SHOWED THE PROFESSION
Wearing your mask halfway is riskier than you may think
"Half-masking" it can be more dangerous than you may realize.
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Updated: 9:51 AM CDT Sep 3, 2020
Video above: Researchers test 14 masks to find best and worstSo you’re wearing a mask. Well, mostly. OK, so you started to walk fast, and breathe hard, and it’s just easier to pull that mask down a little bit under your nose, because, well, you’re still wearing it, right? Well, not in a way that will likely help you or help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to research. Per a study in the journal Cell, there are specific areas where COVID-19 is most likely to cause infection. And unfortunately, a lot of people are not covering the main region where exposure is most prevalent. In other words, that half-mask habit could be leaving you far more vulnerable than you think. Here’s why: The coronavirus, it turns out, really likes your noseIn this study, the researchers engineered a SARS-CoV-2 reporter virus that was labeled with a fluorescent protein. This allowed them to search for and determine the mechanism by which the virus infects the respiratory tract. “Interestingly, it was observed that the nasal regions had a higher susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 infections, with subsequent seeding to the lower respiratory tract due to aspiration,” says Dr. Sunitha Posina. What does this mean? It’s a preliminary finding that suggests that “the nose holds more potential to become infected compared to the remaining of the respiratory tract (such as the throat and lungs),” she says. “When someone does not wear a mask, they are more likely to become infected when they inhale through their nose,” she explains. And if someone is half-masking and they exhale, “they are likely to generate more potent infectious particles than if they exhaled via mouth, given that the nose has cells that have a higher affinity to become infected in comparison to the rest of the respiratory tract,” she continues. The study also gives rise to possibly exploring nasal and topical treatments in the future. So having a mask on your face is one thing, but having a mask that actually covers both your nose and mouth at the same time is what you should be going for.
Video above: Researchers test 14 masks to find best and worst
So you’re wearing a mask. Well, mostly. OK, so you started to walk fast, and breathe hard, and it’s just easier to pull that mask down a little bit under your nose, because, well, you’re still wearing it, right?
Well, not in a way that will likely help you or help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to research. Per a in the journal Cell, there are specific areas where COVID-19 is most likely to cause infection. And unfortunately, a lot of people are not covering the main region where exposure is most prevalent. In other words, that half-mask habit could be leaving you far more vulnerable than you think. Here’s why:
The coronavirus, it turns out, really likes your nose
In this study, the researchers engineered a SARS-CoV-2 reporter virus that was labeled with a fluorescent protein. This allowed them to search for and determine the mechanism by which the virus infects the respiratory tract.
“Interestingly, it was observed that the nasal regions had a higher susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 infections, with subsequent seeding to the lower respiratory tract due to aspiration,” says .
What does this mean? It’s a preliminary finding that suggests that “the nose holds more potential to become infected compared to the remaining of the respiratory tract (such as the throat and lungs),” she says. “When someone does not wear a mask, they are more likely to become infected when they inhale through their nose,” she explains.
And if someone is half-masking and they exhale, “they are likely to generate more potent infectious particles than if they exhaled via mouth, given that the nose has cells that have a higher affinity to become infected in comparison to the rest of the respiratory tract,” she continues.
The study also gives rise to possibly exploring nasal and topical treatments in the future.
So having a mask on your face is one thing, but having a mask that actually covers both your nose and mouth at the same time is what you should be going for.
