According to a study, cloth masks will decrease the transmission of viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, only if they are washed daily at high temperatures.
"Both cloth masks and surgical masks should be considered 'contaminated' after use" Professor Raina MacIntyre, from the University of New South Wales , Australia, said.
"Unlike surgical masks, which are disposed of after use, cloth masks are re-used. While it can be tempting to use the same mask for multiple days in a row, or to give it a quick hand-wash or wipe-over, our research suggests that this increases the risk of contamination"
The latest study , published in the BMJ Open journal, is still the only RCT ever performed, they said, on the effectiveness of cloth masks in preventing viral infections.
If cloth masks were washed in the hospital laundry, the team found they were as efficient as a surgical mask.
The study was conducted over five years ago, and SARS-CoV-2 was not tested by the researchers.Instead, in their study, they included common respiratory pathogens such as flu, rhinoviruses and seasonal coronaviruses.
It is based on self-reported washing data and was performed by health workers in high risk wards in a healthcare environment.
"While someone from the general public wearing a cloth mask is unlikely to come into contact with the same amount of pathogens as healthcare worker in a high risk ward, we would still recommended daily washing of cloth masks in the community" said MacIntyre.
The handwashing of the masks did not provide adequate protection, according to the report.
Compared to those who used hospital laundry, healthcare workers who self-washed their masks by hand had twice the risk of infection, the researchers said.
The majority of people in the RCT handwashed their masks, and this may be why the cloth masks performed poorly in the original trial, they said.
The clear message from this research is that cloth masks do work -- but once a cloth mask has been worn, it needs to be washed properly each time before being worn again, otherwise it stops being effective
Source : Hindustantimes , times of india