Effectiveness of face masks in blocking the transmission of SARS-CoV-2: A preliminary evaluation of masks used by SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals.

In 2019, a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is transmitted via the airborne route, caused a new pandemic namely, "coronavirus disease 2019" (COVID-19). Although the effectiveness of face masks to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is debated, no study has evaluated the virus-blocking efficacy of masks used by patients. We aimed to evaluate this efficacy of masks used by SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals. Data, masks used, and nasopharyngeal swab samples were obtained from these patients. Forty-five paired samples of nasopharyngeal swabs and masks were obtained and processed; the majority of masks were woven. Viral RNAs were amplified using quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and detected only on the inner parts of masks. Median viral load (VL) values of swabs and masks were 1.954x106 and 2,51x103, respectively. Statistically, there was a difference of approximately 1000 RNA copies/mL between swabs and masks and no significant difference in VL values among different types of masks. There were statistically significant differences in VL values between men and women and between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Our findings suggest the blocking of virus transmission by different types of masks and reinforce the use of masks by both infected and non-infected individuals.

Adaptação cultural e validação da reason of using face masks cale para brasileiros / Adaptación cultural y validación de la reason of using face mask scale para brasileños / Cultural adaptation and validation of the reason of using face mask scale for brazilians

RESUMO Objetivo: realizar a tradução, adaptação cultural e validação da Reason of Using Face Mask Scale entre brasileiros. Métodos: estudo metodológico realizado entre abril e maio de 2020 mediante as seguintes etapas: tradução; síntese das traduções; retrotradução; comitê de juízes; pré-teste e avaliação das propriedades psicométricas. A coleta dos dados foi online a partir de mensagens enviadas por meio de mídias sociais. O questionário foi disponibilizado a partir de um link e os dados armazenados no Google Forms. Utilizou-se a Análise Fatorial Exploratória, testes de Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin e de Esfericidade de Bartlett para constatar se a amostra era adequada e passível de fatoração. Resultados: a escala foi traduzida para o português, avaliada por cinco especialistas, pré-testada com 20 adultos e aplicada em 500 pessoas da população brasileira. O índice de validade de conteúdo para a escala como um todo foi de 0,92. Os valores de Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (0,639) e teste de esfericidade de Bartlett (p=0,000) indicaram que os itens eram fatoráveis. A variância explicada foi de 62,18%. Na validade de construto por grupos distintos, obteve-se resultado satisfatório (p<0,05). Conclusão: a Versão Brasileira da escalafoi adaptada para a cultura brasileira, sendo válida para avaliar os motivos para o uso de máscaras entre brasileiros.

RESUMEN Objetivo: realizar la traducción, adaptación cultural y validación de la Reason ofUsingFaceMaskScale entre brasileños. Métodos: estudio metodológico realizado entre abril y mayo de 2020 a través de las siguientes etapas: traducción; síntesis de las traducciones; retrotraducción; evaluación por jueces; pretest y evaluación de las propiedades psicométricas. La recolección de datos se realizó online a partir de mensajes enviados a través de redes sociales. La encuesta se hizo disponible a partir de un enlace y los datos almacenados en Google Forms. Se utilizó el Análisis Factorial Exploratorio, pruebas de Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin y de Esfericidad de Bartlett para determinar si la muestra era adecuada y susceptible a la factorización. Resultados: la escala fue traducida al portugués, evaluada por cinco especialistas, pre-testada con 20 adultos y aplicada en 500 personas de la población brasileña. El índice de validez del contenido para la escala como un todo fue de 0,92. Los valores de Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (0,639) y test de esfericidad de Bartlett (p=0,000) indicaron que los ítems eran susceptibles a la factorización. La varianza explicada fue de 62,18%. En la validez de constructo por grupos distintos se obtuvo resultado satisfactorio (p<0,05). Conclusión: la Versión Brasileña de la escala fue adaptada para la cultura brasileña yes válida para evaluar los motivos para el uso de máscaras entre brasileños.

ABSTRACT Objective: to carry out the translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the Reason of Using Face Mask Scale among Brazilians. Methods: methodological study conducted between April and May 2020 using the following steps: translation; synthesis of translations; back-translation; committee of judges; pre-test and evaluation of psychometric properties. Data collection took place online from messages sent through social media. The questionnaire was made available from a link and the data stored in Google Forms. Exploratory Factor Analysis, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's Sphericity tests were used to check if the sample was adequate and factorable. Results: the scale was translated into Portuguese, evaluated by five experts, pre-tested with 20 adults and applied to 500 people from the Brazilian population. The content validity index for the scale as a whole was 0.92. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (0.639) and Bartlett's Sphericity test (p=0.000) values indicated that the items were factorable. The explained variance was 62.18%. In the construct validity for different groups, a satisfactory result was obtained (p<0.05). Conclusion: the Brazilian Version of the scale was adapted to the Brazilian culture and is valid to evaluate the reasons for the use of masks among Brazilians.

Promotion of Surgical Masks Antimicrobial Activity by Disinfection and Impregnation with Disinfectant Silver Nanoparticles.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic is requesting highly effective protective personnel equipment, mainly for healthcare professionals. However, the current demand has exceeded the supply chain and, consequently, shortage of essential medical materials, such as surgical masks. Due to these alarming limitations, it is crucial to develop effective means of disinfection, reusing, and thereby applying antimicrobial shielding protection to the clinical supplies. PURPOSE: Therefore, in this work, we developed a novel, economical, and straightforward approach to promote antimicrobial activity to surgical masks by impregnating silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). METHODS: Our strategy consisted of fabricating a new alcohol disinfectant formulation combining special surfactants and AgNPs, which is demonstrated to be extensively effective against a broad number of microbial surrogates of SARS-CoV-2. RESULTS: The present nano-formula reported a superior microbial reduction of 99.999% against a wide number of microorganisms. Furthermore, the enveloped H5N1 virus was wholly inactivated after 15 min of disinfection. Far more attractive, the current method for reusing surgical masks did not show outcomes of detrimental amendments, suggesting that the protocol does not alter the filtration effectiveness. CONCLUSION: The nano-disinfectant provides a valuable strategy for effective decontamination, reuse, and even antimicrobial promotion to surgical masks for frontline clinical personnel.