Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks.

Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks.

We identified seasonal human coronaviruses, influenza viruses and rhinoviruses in the exhaled breath and coughs of children and adults with acute respiratory illness. Surgical face masks significantly reduced detection of influenza virus RNA in respiratory droplets and coronavirus RNA in aerosols, with a marginally significant reduction in coronavirus RNA in respiratory droplets. Our results indicate that surgical facemasks could prevent transmission of human coronaviruses and influenza viruses from symptomatic individuals.

我们在患有急性呼吸道疾病的儿童和成人的呼出气体及咳嗽中发现了季节性人类冠状病毒、流感病毒和鼻病毒。医用外科口罩显著减少了在呼吸道飞沫中流感病毒RNA以及在气溶胶中冠状病毒RNA的检测量，对呼吸道飞沫中冠状病毒RNA的减少也有一定的显著性。我们的研究结果表明，医用外科口罩可以防止有症状的个体传播人类冠状病毒和流感病毒。