Research from University of Antwerp Yields New Study Findings on Health and Medicine (Cotton and Surgical Face Masks in Community Settings: Bacterial Contamination and Face Mask Hygiene)

摘要

2021 SEP 17 (NewsRx) - By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Disease Prevention Daily - Fresh data on health and medicine are presented in a new report. According to news reporting originating from Antwerp, Belgium, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the use of face masks has become increasingly recommended and even mandatory in community settings. To evaluate the risk of bacterial cross-contamination, this study analyzed the bacterial bioburden of disposable surgical masks and homemade cotton masks, and surveyed the habits and face mask preferences of the Flemish population." Funders for this research include Agentschap Innoveren en Ondernemen; Universiteit Antwerpen; European Research Council. Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from University of Antwerp: "Using culture approaches and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, we analyzed the microbial community on surgical and/or cotton face masks of 13 healthy volunteers after 4 h of wearing. Cotton and surgical masks contained on average 1.46 x 105 CFU/mask and 1.32 x 104 CFU/mask, respectively. Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Acinetobacter spp. were mostly cultured from the masks and 43% of these isolates were resistant to ampicillin or erythromycin. Microbial profiling demonstrated a consistent difference between mask types. Cotton masks mainly contained Roseomonas, Paracoccus, and Enhydrobacter taxa and surgical masks Streptococcus and Staphylococcus. After 4 h of mask wearing, the microbiome of the anterior nares and the cheek showed a trend toward an altered beta-diversity. According to dedicated questions in the large-scale Corona survey of the University of Antwerp with almost 25,000 participants, only 21% of responders reported to clean their cotton face mask daily. Laboratory results indicated that the best mask cleaning methods were boiling at 100°C, washing at 60°C with detergent or ironing with a steam iron. Taken together, this study suggests that a considerable number of bacteria, including pathobionts and antibiotic resistant bacteria, accumulate on surgical and even more on cotton face masks after use."