The first virus discovered was Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) by Martinus Beijerinck.7 He took a diseased tobacco plant, ground it up, placed the liquid through a filter, and was able to infect another tobacco plant using the filtrate. Beijerinck coined the term virus, which means venom in Latin. The point is that viruses are so small that they easily pass through microscopic holes we can’t even see. The largest virus to date is the Pithovirus sibericum, which is ~1.5 µm in length by 500 nm in diameter.8 So the largest virus might get caught by a standard filter, but almost all other viruses range in size from as small as 20 nm up to 450 nm—meaning most pass through the lab filter size of 0.22 µm.9 This is significant since the smallest holes on average for a surgical mask is 16.9 µm.10 Even the largest of viruses could fit through the holes in a surgical mask, so, in a previous article, I said there was no data suggesting the use of surgical masks was warranted.
Change of Face?.
But then a bombshell of a paper was published on April 3, 2020, looking at the efficiency of surgical masks to prevent transmission of the common cold, the flu, and COVID-19.11 Experiments were set up with people confirmed having each of these three viruses and tested the ability of the subjects to transmit the virus through the surgical mask. The authors of the scientific publication found that surgical masks were actually extremely effective at preventing transmission of these viruses. The authors went on to explain that surgical masks are probably capturing the respiratory droplets in our breath that are teeming with viruses. So the respiratory droplets never leave the inside of the mask and go on to infect the next person. With that data now available, I have changed my mind about surgical masks.
Recently, the CDC came out and said that everyone should be wearing a face mask (homemade or purchased surgical mask) when going out in public. Some say there was pressure on the CDC to make that statement,12 but it turns out to be the right thing to do. Technically, this study did not measure the ability of COVID-19 in the air to enter through the surgical mask and infect someone. However, I think it stands to reason that if the surgical mask blocks virus from escaping an infected individual that it will work in just the opposite way (and protect you).
I now recommend a home-made face covering of some kind. I largely recommend that we should try to help the global demand for surgical masks by reserving them only for those that are high risk13 and medical professionals.
And there’s one more thing you can do. When I was in graduate school, I had the same professor for both Microbial Pathogenesis and Cellular Microbiology. He is a world-leading expert on the anthrax toxin and is married to a medical doctor. He shared with us about one of his practices in which he would stop breathing in an elevator if someone sneezed or coughed (i.e., hold his breath). While socially awkward, it makes perfect sense from an infectious disease perspective. I have been holding my breath when at the grocery store and I’m within six feet of someone to prevent contracting COVID-19.
Should I Start Wearing a Facemask and Gloves?
Change of Face?.
But then a bombshell of a paper was published on April 3, 2020, looking at the efficiency of surgical masks to prevent transmission of the common cold, the flu, and COVID-19.11 Experiments were set up with people confirmed having each of these three viruses and tested the ability of the subjects to transmit the virus through the surgical mask. The authors of the scientific publication found that surgical masks were actually extremely effective at preventing transmission of these viruses. The authors went on to explain that surgical masks are probably capturing the respiratory droplets in our breath that are teeming with viruses. So the respiratory droplets never leave the inside of the mask and go on to infect the next person. With that data now available, I have changed my mind about surgical masks.
Recently, the CDC came out and said that everyone should be wearing a face mask (homemade or purchased surgical mask) when going out in public. Some say there was pressure on the CDC to make that statement,12 but it turns out to be the right thing to do. Technically, this study did not measure the ability of COVID-19 in the air to enter through the surgical mask and infect someone. However, I think it stands to reason that if the surgical mask blocks virus from escaping an infected individual that it will work in just the opposite way (and protect you).
I now recommend a home-made face covering of some kind. I largely recommend that we should try to help the global demand for surgical masks by reserving them only for those that are high risk13 and medical professionals.
And there’s one more thing you can do. When I was in graduate school, I had the same professor for both Microbial Pathogenesis and Cellular Microbiology. He is a world-leading expert on the anthrax toxin and is married to a medical doctor. He shared with us about one of his practices in which he would stop breathing in an elevator if someone sneezed or coughed (i.e., hold his breath). While socially awkward, it makes perfect sense from an infectious disease perspective. I have been holding my breath when at the grocery store and I’m within six feet of someone to prevent contracting COVID-19.
Should I Start Wearing a Facemask and Gloves?