Efficacy Assessment of Newly-designed Filtering Facemasks during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Boogaard, Bob; Taş, Ali; Nijssen, Joep; Broeren, Freek G.J.; Dobbelsteen, John J. van den; Verhoeven, Vincent Wj; Pluim, Jip; Dekker, Sing; Snijder, Eric J.; Hemert, Martijn J. van; Herfst, Sander

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2020.07.0424

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…To reduce p to 10% by ventilation only, unrealistic 80 air changes per hour (ACH) sustained were necessary. If, instead, the teacher wears a tight FFP2 mask with a filter efficiency of 95% ( ) 54 , 55 then p = 15%. They may open the door and windows widely for 10 min after half an hour to clear the air from aerosols.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerosol emission from playing wind instruments and related COVID-19 infection risk during music performance

Firle¹,

Steinmetz

Stier

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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The pandemic of COVID-19 led to restrictions in all kinds of music activities. Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 requires risk assessment of wind instrument playing in various situations. Previous studies focused on short-range transmission, whereas long-range transmission risk has not been assessed. The latter requires knowledge of aerosol emission rates from wind instrument playing. We measured aerosol concentrations in a hermetically closed chamber of 20 m3 in an operating theatre as resulting from 20 min standardized wind instrument playing (19 flute, 11 oboe, 1 clarinet, 1 trumpet players). We calculated aerosol emission rates showing uniform distribution for both instrument groups. Aerosol emission from wind instrument playing ranged from 11 ± 288 particles/second (P/s) up to 2535 ± 195 P/s, expectation value ± uncertainty standard deviation. The analysis of aerosol particle size distributions shows that 70–80% of emitted particles had a size of 0.25–0.8 µm and thus are alveolar. Masking the bell with a surgical mask did not reduce aerosol emission. Aerosol emission rates were higher from wind instrument playing than from speaking or breathing. Differences between instrumental groups could not be found but high interindividual variance, as expressed by uniform distribution of aerosol emission rates. Our findings indicate that aerosol emission depends on physiological factors and playing techniques rather than on the type of instrument, in contrast to some previous studies. Based on our results, we present transmission risk calculations for long-range transmission of COVID-19 for three typical woodwind playing situations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerosol emission from playing wind instruments and related COVID-19 infection risk during music performance

Firle¹,

Steinmetz

Stier

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To reduce p to 10% by ventilation only, unrealistic 80 air changes per hour (ACH) sustained were necessary. If, instead, the teacher wears a tight FFP2 mask with a filter efficiency of 95% (𝜗 = 0.05) 41,42 then p = 15%. They may open the door and windows widely for 10 min after half an hour to clear the air from aerosols.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerosol emission rates from playing wind instruments – Implications for COVID-19 transmission during music performance

Firle¹,

Steinmetz

Stier

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundThe pandemic of COVID-19 led to exceeding restrictions especially in public life and music business. Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 demands for risk assessment also in wind playing situations. Previous studies focused on short-range transmission, whereas long-range transmission has not been assessed so far.Methods and findingsWe measured resulting aerosol concentrations in a hermetically closed cabin of 20 m3 in an operating theatre from 20 minutes standardized wind instrument playing (19 flute, 11 oboe, 1 clarinet, 1 trumpet players). Based on the data, we calculated total aerosol emission rates showing uniform distribution for both instrument groups (flute, oboe). Aerosol emission from wind instruments playing ranged from 7 ± 327 particles/second (P/s) up to 2583 ± 236 P/s, average rate ± standard deviation. The analysis of the aerosol particle size distribution showed that about 70 − 80% of emitted particles had a size ≤ 0.4 µm and thus being alveolar. Masking the bell with a surgical mask did not reduce aerosol emission. Aerosol emission rates were higher from wind instruments playing than from speaking and breathing. Differences between instrumental groups could not be found, but high interindividual variance as expressed by uniform distribution of aerosol emission rates.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that aerosol emission depends on physiological factors and playing techniques rather than on the type of instrument, in contrast to some previous studies. Based on our results, we present risk calculations for long-range transmission of COVID-19 for three typical woodwind playing situations.

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“…Originally developed to guarantee an optimal protection in a professional context, the fit factor (also called protection factor when it is not calculated within a standardized fit test) and the total inward leakage have been widely adopted to compare the protection levels of different types of masks either on volunteers 20 , 21 , 22 or on manikins. 23 , 24 , 25 Manikins help reducing the variability resulting from movements of the head and to a certain extend from the skills of the volunteers in adjusting the mask.…”

Section: The Fit Factor As An Indicator Of the Protection Provided By...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical review on the role of leakages in the facemask protection against SARS‐CoV‐2 infection with consideration of vaccination and virus variants

Wang

2022

Indoor Air

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The protection provided by facemasks has been extensively investigated since the beginning of the SARS‐CoV‐2 outbreak, focusing mostly on the filtration efficiency of filter media for filtering face pieces (FFP), surgical masks, and cloth masks. However, faceseal leakage is a major contributor to the number of potentially infectious airborne droplets entering the respiratory system of a susceptible individual. The identification of leaking spots and the quantification of leaking flows are crucial to estimate the protection provided by facemasks. This study presents a critical review on the measurement and calculation of facemask leakages and a quantitative analysis of their role in the risk of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. It shows that the pairing between the mask dimensions and the wearer's face is essential to improve protection efficiency, especially for FFP2 masks, and summarizes the most common leaking spots at the interface between the mask and the wearer's face. Leakage is a crucial factor in the calculation of the protection provided by facemasks and outweighs the filtration performances. The fit factors measured among mask users were summarized for different types of face protection. The reviewed data were integrated into a computational model to compare the mitigation impact of facemasks with vaccination with consideration of new variants of SARS‐CoV‐2. Combining a high adoption rate of facemasks and a high vaccination rate is crucial to efficiently control the spread of highly infectious variants.

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Efficacy Assessment of Newly-designed Filtering Facemasks during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Cited by 4 publications

References 12 publications

Aerosol emission from playing wind instruments and related COVID-19 infection risk during music performance

Aerosol emission from playing wind instruments and related COVID-19 infection risk during music performance

Aerosol emission rates from playing wind instruments – Implications for COVID-19 transmission during music performance

A critical review on the role of leakages in the facemask protection against SARS‐CoV‐2 infection with consideration of vaccination and virus variants

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