Source avec lien : American Journal of Infection Control, (Prépublication), . 10.1016/j.ajic.2021.01.017
La pénurie de masques respiratoires filtrants N95 pendant une pandémie est une préoccupation majeure des experts en soins de santé. L’une des solutions pour pallier à cette pénurie est de décontaminer et de réutiliser les appareils. L’objectif de cette étude était de développer une nouvelle technique d’évaluation basée sur 3 exigences majeures de décontamination : (1) inactiver les virus, (2) ne pas altérer les propriétés du respirateur et (3) ne laisser aucun sous-produit toxique sur le FFR.
Background A major concern among health care experts is a shortage of N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) during a pandemic. One option for mitigating an FFR shortage is to decontaminate and reuse the devices. The focus of this study was to develop a new evaluation technique based on 3 major decontamination requirements: (1) inactivating viruses, (2) not altering the respirator properties, and (3) not leaving any toxic byproduct on the FFR. Methods Hydrophilic and hydrophobic FFRs were contaminated with MS2 virus. In the solution-based deposition, the virus-containing liquid droplets were spiked directly onto FFRs, while in the vapor-based and aerosol-based depositions, the viral particles were loaded onto FFRs using a bio-aerosol testing system. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) and moist heat (MH) decontamination methods were used for inactivation of viruses applied to FFRs. Results Both UVGI and MH methods inactivated viruses (>5-log reduction of MS2 virus; in 92% of both method experiments, the virus was reduced to levels below the detection limit), did not alter the respirator properties, and did not leave any toxic byproduct on the FFRs. Conclusions Both UVGI and MH methods could be considered as promising decontamination candidates for inactivation of viruses for respirator reuse during shortages.