… Evidences showed that the surgical mask might not be enough to protect the person from air-borne pathogens and might also be the source of air-borne or droplet infection. This study aimed to investigate the microbial contamination on used disposable surgical masks among hospital personnel and microbial air quality in their working wards and its relationship. These are useful in developing prevention and control programs among HCWs.
…Generally, the surgical mask is designed to prevent microorganisms from the nose and mouth of the wearer from spreading to others. It is not efficient to filter particles of some infectious agents, especially M. tuberculosis and some viral particles.15 The present study found that both bacterial and fungal contamination on outside areas of the used masks were significantly higher than the inside areas
Conclusion
This present study revealed that the high bacterial contamination on the outside area of the used surgical masks had significantly positive correlation with bacterial and fungal counts found in air samples that were collected from the working wards. To reduce the load of bacterial contamination on the used masks, the hospital environments, especially microbial air quality in the working wards should be improved.
