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Reassurance for Clinicians
The results will reassure clinicians, many of whom are already using these decontamination methods, Ravina Kullar, PharmD, MPH, an infectious disease expert with the Infectious Diseases Society of America, told Medscape Medical News.
Kullar, who is also an adjunct faculty member at the David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles, said the most widely used methods have been UV light and VPH.
UV light has been used for years to decontaminate rooms, she said. She also said that so far, supplies of hydrogen peroxide are adequate.
A shortcoming of the study, Kullar said, is that it tested the masks for only 2 hours, whereas in clinical practice, they are being worn for much longer periods.
After the study is peer reviewed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may update its recommendations, she said.
So far, she noted, the CDC has not approved any method for decontaminating masks, “but it has said that it does not object to using these sterilizers, disinfectants, devices, and air purifiers for effectively killing this virus.”
Safe, multiple use of the masks is critical in the COVID-19 crisis, she said.
“We have to look at other mechanisms to keep these N95 respirators in use when there’s such a shortage,” she said.
Integrity of the fit was an important factor in the study.
“All healthcare workers have to go through a fitting to have that mask fitted appropriately. That’s why these N95s are only approved for healthcare professionals, not the lay public,” she said.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health; the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; the University of California, Los Angeles; the US National Science Foundation; and the US Department of Defense.
