P-253 An in-depth evaluation of the effectiveness of medical face marks worn by healthcare workers in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic

Jahangiri, Mehdi and Gharibi, Vahid and Berizi, Enayat and Cousins, Rosanna and Tessarolo, Francesco and Sheykhshoaei, Morteza and Jafari, Saeed and Rismanchian, Masoud (2024) P-253 An in-depth evaluation of the effectiveness of medical face marks worn by healthcare workers in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic. Occupational Medicine, 74. ISSN 0962-7480

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Abstract

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the production of medical face masks (MFM) as an affordable solution for personal protection against the highly contagious respiratory coronavirus. However, many domestically produced masks were introduced into workplaces without going through quality control processes. The effectiveness of a large number of MFM produced in Iran was untested, so the study aimed to evaluate the performance of MFM produced in Iran that are used by healthcare workers.

Methods

The study used two laboratory setups to evaluate bacterial filtration efficiency and differential pressure according to Standard EN14683:2019, and to assess features of the melt-blown layer using scanning electron microscope images. Samples were taken from ten uncertified brands of MFM commonly used by healthcare workers and five certified brands of MFM.

Results

The quality factor of the Reference Sample was nearly twice as high as that of the Test Sample. There was a positive correlation between bacterial filtration efficiency and quality factor and melt-blown layer grammage, and a negative correlation between fiber diameter and porosity.

Discussion

There was a high positive correlation between layer grammage and quality factor.

Conclusion

The uncertified MFM provides insufficient protection for healthcare workers, as they typically do not meet the recognized Standard for use as personal protective equipment.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences > School of Psychology
SWORD Depositor:	eprints api
Depositing User:	eprints api
Date Deposited:	09 Dec 2024 11:50
Last Modified:	09 Dec 2024 11:50
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/4481

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