Cloth face masks to prevent Covid-19 and other respiratory infections

[A structural method to assess the course of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in school environmentsMétodo estructural para examinar el curso de la pandemia por el SARS-CoV-2 en ambientes escolares]

A pandemia da COVID-19 tem levantado uma série de dilemas para os gestores públicos, sendo a reabertura das escolas uma das decisões mais complexas. O presente artigo apresenta uma microssimulação do curso da pandemia considerando vários cenários dentro dos limites de uma sala de aula na cidade de Belo Horizonte, Brasil. Utilizou-se um modelo de suscetíveis-infectados-recuperados (SIR) integrado a um modelo de grafos aleatórios, associando características epidemiológicas a fatores sociométricos e sociodemográficos. Foram utilizadas as taxas de contatos sociais projetadas para o Brasil pelo projeto europeu POLYMOD e adaptadas para a cidade de Belo Horizonte para simular o número de contatos entre os indivíduos seguindo uma distribuição de Poisson. A simulação tomou como referência 20 alunos e suas famílias. Os cenários projetados discriminaram três faixas etárias com as suas respectivas taxas diárias de contatos sociais: 0 a 5 anos (0,01), 6 a 14 anos (1,80) e 15 a 19 anos (0,20). As simulações demonstraram diferenças claras para os grupos etários considerados, dependendo do número de infectados iniciais e do uso ou não de máscara no espaço escolar. Os resultados confirmam que a ausência de medidas adequadas de mitigação eleva de forma considerável o risco de contágio na comunidade escolar.

Blepharoconjunctivitis and Otolaryngological Disease Trends in the Context of Mask Wearing during the COVID-19 Pandemic

(1) Purpose: In 2020, wearing of face masks was mandated in the United States in an effort to lessen transmission of the novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic; however, long-term mask wearing may present with unintended side-effects in both ophthalmic and otolaryngologic clinical practice. This study aims to examine if mask wearing increased the incidence of primarily chalazion, blepharoconjunctivitis, and rhinitis occurrence during the mask-mandated COVID-19 pandemic period. (2) Methods: Medical records from tertiary academic center clinics were analyzed for incidence of ophthalmic and otolaryngologic diagnoses of interest (blepharoconjunctivitis- and rhinitis-related disorders). Data were collected from a pre-pandemic (March 2019–February 2020) and a mid-pandemic window (March 2020–February 2021) during which widespread mask mandates were implemented in Texas. Comparison was performed using a t-test analysis between incidence of chosen diagnoses during the described time periods. (3) Results: Incidence of ophthalmic disorders (primarily blepharoconjunctivitis and chalazion) in the pre-pandemic versus mid-pandemic windows did show a significant difference (p-value of 0.048). Similarly, comparison of otolaryngologic diagnoses (primarily rhinitis and related conditions) between the two time periods showed a significant difference (p-value of 0.044) as well. (4) Conclusion: Incidence of the chosen ophthalmic and otolaryngologic disorders did increase during periods of mask mandates. While these findings are preliminary, further studies are warranted to understand other factors that may have played a role in eye and nose pathology.

Face Masks to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19)-Processing, Roles, Requirements, Efficacy, Risk and Sustainability

Increasingly prevalent respiratory infectious diseases (e.g., COVID-19) have posed severe threats to public health. Viruses including coronavirus, influenza, and so on can cause respiratory infections. A pandemic may potentially emerge owing to the worldwide spread of the virus through persistent human-to-human transmission. However, transmission pathways may vary; respiratory droplets or airborne virus-carrying particles can have a key role in transmitting infections to humans. In conjunction with social distancing, hand cleanliness, and other preventative measures, the use of face masks is considered to be another scientific approach to combat ubiquitous coronavirus. Different types of face masks are produced using a range of materials (e.g., polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile, polycarbonate, polyurethane, polystyrene, polyester and polyethylene) and manufacturing techniques (woven, knitted, and non-woven) that provide different levels of protection to the users. However, the efficacy and proper disposal/management of the used face masks, particularly the ones made of non-biodegradable polymers, pose great environmental concerns. This review compiles the recent advancements of face masks, covering their requirements, materials and techniques used, efficacy, challenges, risks, and sustainability towards further enhancement of the quality and performance of face masks.

Tea and tea drinking: China's outstanding contributions to the mankind

Background

Tea trees originated in southwest China 60 million or 70 million years ago. Written records show that Chinese ancestors had begun drinking tea over 3000 years ago. Nowadays, with the aging of populations worldwide and more people suffering from non-communicable diseases or poor health, tea beverages have become an inexpensive and fine complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapy. At present, there are 3 billion people who like to drink tea in the world, but few of them actually understand tea, especially on its development process and the spiritual and cultural connotations.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, CNKI, and other relevant platforms with the key word “tea”, and reviewed and analyzed tea-related literatures and pictures in the past 40 years about tea’s history, culture, customs, experimental studies, and markets.

Results

China is the hometown of tea, tea trees, tea drinking, and tea culture. China has the oldest wild and planted tea trees in the world, fossil of a tea leaf from 35,400,000 years ago, and abundant tea-related literatures and art works. Moreover, tea may be the first Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) used by Chinese people in ancient times. Tea drinking has many benefits to our physical health via its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immuno-regulatory, anticancer, cardiovascular-protective, anti-diabetic, and anti-obesity activities. At the moment, COVID-19 is wreaking havoc across the globe and causing severe damages to people’s health and lives. Tea has anti-COVID-19 functions via the enhancement of the innate immune response and inhibition of viral growth. Besides, drinking tea can allow people to acquire a peaceful, relaxed, refreshed and cheerful enjoyment, and even longevity. According to the meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine, different kinds of tea can activate different meridian systems in the human body. At present, black tea (fermented tea) and green tea (non-fermented tea) are the most popular in the world. Black tea accounts for over 90% of all teas sold in western countries. The world’s top-grade black teas include Qi Men black in China, Darjeeling and Assam black tea in India, and Uva black tea in Sri Lanka. However, all top ten famous green teas in the world are produced in China, and Xi Hu Long Jing tea is the most famous among all green teas. More than 700 different kinds of components and 27 mineral elements can be found in tea. Tea polyphenols and theaflavin/thearubigins are considered to be the major bioactive components of black tea and green tea, respectively. Overly strong or overheated tea liquid should be avoided when drinking tea.

Conclusions

Today, CAM provides an array of treatment modalities for the health promotion in both developed and developing countries all over the world. Tea drinking, a simple herb-based CAM therapy, has become a popular man-made non-alcoholic beverage widely consumed worldwide, and it can improve the growth of economy as well. Tea can improve our physical and mental health and promote the harmonious development of society through its chemical and cultural elements.

Homemade facemasks: particle filtration, breathability, fit, and other performance characteristics

Homemade cloth masks and other improvised face coverings have become widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic driven by severe shortages of personal protective equipment. In this study, various alternative (mostly common household) materials, which have not traditionally been used in respiratory protective devices, were tested for particle filtration performance and breathability. Most of these materials were found of some-but rather limited-utility in facemasks. At a breathing flow rate of 30 L min-1, 17 out of 19 tested materials demonstrated collection efficiency below 50%; at 85 L min-1, only one material featured particle collection efficiency above 50%. Pressure drop values were mostly below 4 mm w.g. (observed in 89% of cases for the two flow rates), which provides comfortable breathing. Only for one fabric material (silk) tested at 85 L min-1 did the pressure drop reach 11 mm w.g. Based on these results, a three-layer facemask prototype was designed and fabricated comprised of the best performing materials. Additional tests were conducted to examine possible particle detachment/shedding from the materials used in the newly developed facemask, but no such phenomenon was observed. The prototype was evaluated on 10 human subjects using the standard OSHA-approved quantitative fit testing protocol. The mask protection level, determined as an adopted fit factor, was found to lie between that of the two commercial surgical/medical masks tested for comparison. A 10-cycle washing of the mask prototype lowered its collection efficiency across the particle size range; however, washing did not substantially affect mask breathability. The study revealed that although homemade masks offer a certain level of protection to a wearer, one should not expect them to provide the same respiratory protection as high-end commercial surgical/medical masks or-by any means-NIOSH-certified N95 filtering facepieces.

Impacto de la introducción del cubrebocas contra el COVID-19: una revisión narrativa

El objetivo de este trabajo fue identificar el impacto de la introducción del cubrebocas contra el COVID-19: qué características tiene y cómo se ha introducido alrededor del mundo. Para ello, se realizó una revisión de la literatura disponible en una base de datos especializada, PUBMED, la cual se ajustó a las directrices enmarcadas en la metodología PRISMA . Se definieron ecuaciones de búsqueda bajo los términos MeSH: humans, COVID-19, severe acute respiratory síndrome coronavirus 2, masks y equipment design, utilizando el carácter booleano AND. Con estas ecuaciones se buscaron artículos publicados en 2020, recuperando 676 registros en total, eligiendo 82 que abordan el tema de interés e incluyendo en la revisión final 49 artículos que cumplían con todos los criterios de inclusión y exclusión definidos. Los resultados sugieren que la introducción de mascarillas tuvo un impacto positivo para reducir el riesgo de COVID-19 y el uso inadecuado del cubrebocas es un factor de riesgo.

Face Mask Use During the COVID-19 Outbreak: How Did Educated Brazilians Behave?

PURPOSE

To describe Brazilians' behavior regarding face mask use and health literacy during the COVID-19 pandemic before and after the Ministry of Health of Brazil formal recommendation.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional surveys using a web-based questionnaire. Participants were recruited via snowball techniques.

SETTING

São Paulo state, the urban epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil at the time of the study.

PARTICIPANTS

2.203 clicks to the survey link and 1.223 surveys completed (55.5% response rate). However, only 1118 surveys were considered after the exclusion criteria (>18 years-old and consent).

MEASURES

Demographics, educational status, COVID-19-related symptoms (headache, cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea, fever, asthenia, diarrhea, dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, vertigo, anosmia, and ageusia), and face mask use.

ANALYSIS

Self-reports of COVID-19 symptoms were categorized as dichotomous variables (Cohen's h = 0.94). Pearson Chi-square test evaluated differences between T1 and T2 and logistic multiple regression analyzed odds-ratio for the presence of symptoms and independent variables.

RESULTS

Face mask use increased from 43.60% in T1 to 90.52% in T2 (P < .0001) as the pandemic went on. Health literacy also changed within 2 weeks and people started to assume everybody should use face masks (62.93% in T1 vs 94.12% in T2; P < .0001; ES = 0.29) during outside activities (43.60% in T1 vs 90.52% in T2; P < .0001; ES = 0.39). Self-reports of face mask use were associated with fewer self-reports of COVID-19 symptoms (OR = 0.65, P = .01, 95% CI 0.48; 0.88).

CONCLUSION

Face mask use was already high among educated Brazilians before the formal recommendation by the authorities. This may have contributed to fewer self-reports of COVID-19-related symptoms.

Community practice of using face masks for the prevention of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia

Community face masking is possibly of great value in reducing COVID-19 transmission, especially when universally adopted with high compliance. The aim of this study is to investigate the knowledge, common misconceptions, barriers, and the compliance of the community with the use of face masks for the prevention of COVID-19. A validated questionnaire was administered to the participants through a web link by using various social media. The collected data were statistically analyzed for significant differences according to demographic variables. The average knowledge of face masks and their role in preventing COVID-19 transmission was 95.64%, with no differences among most of the demographical factors. Older groups and females demonstrated a better attitude towards wearing face masks than other groups did (p<0.001). Another significant difference in the participant's attitude was noticed between the various educational levels, employment, and nationality (p<0.001). Of the total respondents, 88.2% encouraged wearing face masks. Misconceptions about wearing face masks were very low. The frequency of wearing face masks at public places, workplaces, or social gatherings was 87.2%, 80.5%, and 47.5% respectively. There was a significant variation in the compliance with wearing face masks between the various groups based on age, gender, nationality, and employment status (p<0.001). The inconvenience in wearing face masks was reported by 36.3%. Face irritation and ear pain were reported by 70.2% and 43.5%, respectively. The inconvenience of wearing face masks with eyeglasses was reported by 44.3% of those wearing eyeglasses. In general, the study demonstrated a good attitude among participants towards wearing face masks. Although the respondents in the study were aware of the benefits of wearing face masks, the barriers may have decreased their desire to do so. These barriers include difficulty in breathing, discomfort, face irritation, and ear pain.

COVID-19 pandemic management and the rheumatology patient

We discuss the evidence behind mask use, including evidence for homemade masks, social distancing, and the local coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) epidemics in countries that initially employed more limited public health interventions. Given the absence of data for specific interventions in the rheumatic disease population, we reviewed the evidence available for the general population. The risk of poor outcomes with COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic diseases is a potential concern given the immunosuppression associated with these conditions and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug therapy, as well as advancing age and many of the comorbidities present in such patients. Infection prevention is key, for both individual patients and their community. Given the data collected from the general population, we recommend ongoing proper mask use, social distancing, and hand hygiene for patients with rheumatic diseases and encourage providers to counsel these patients in prevention strategies and attempt to dispel abundant misinformation.