Masks Will Not Help Against Super-Flu
Pastor Dale Morgan
May 3, 10:27 PM EDT
*Masks Will Not Help Against Super-Flu*
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- If a super-flu strikes, face masks may not protect
you. Even so, the government says people should consider wearing them in
certain situations, just in case.
The consumer advice issued Thursday reflects the fact that the science
behind it is unclear. Whether widespread use of masks will help, or
harm, during the next worldwide flu outbreak is a question that
researchers are studying furiously.
But it's a question the public keeps asking as the government makes
preparations for the next flu pandemic. So the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention came up with preliminary guidelines.
"We don't want people wearing them willy-nilly," said Dr. Michael Bell,
a CDC infection-control expert. "The overall recommendation really is to
avoid exposure."
When that's not possible, the guidelines say to consider wearing a
simple surgical mask if:
-You're healthy and can't avoid going to a crowded place.
-You're sick and think you may have close contact with the healthy, such
as a family member checking on you.
-You live with someone who's sick and thus might be in the early stages
of infection, but still need to go out.
Consider wearing a more expensive, better-filtering mask called an N95
respirator if you're well but must take care of a sick person, they
conclude.
But remember the mask doesn't take the place of basic precautions,
including hand washing and avoiding contact with people who have
respiratory infections, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC director.
"We are concerned people will think the mask is the magic bullet. It can
have a role in personal protection but they are not the only thing,"
Gerberding told a news conference in Atlanta.
Influenza pandemics can strike when the easy-to-mutate flu virus shifts
to a strain that people never have experienced. Scientists cannot
predict when the next pandemic will arrive, although concern is rising
that the Asian bird flu might trigger one if it starts spreading easily
from person to person.
It would take months to brew a vaccine, so the hunt is on for simple
infection-control measures that communities could use in the meantime.
Topping that list: Avoid crowds, and avoid close contact with the sick
unless you must care for someone, the CDC has long stressed. Flu spreads
most easily to those within 6 feet of an infected person. And flu tends
to be most contagious before people realize they're truly sick, when the
very first coughing and sneezing begins and they're still likely to be
out and about.
Why aren't masks a no-brainer to add to the list? They can help trap
virus-laden droplets flying through the air with a cough or sneeze. But
it's unclear whether large droplets or far tinier, so-called aerosolized
particles are the bigger risk from flu.
Simple surgical masks only filter the larger droplets. But
better-filtering respirators aren't for everyone. They must be fitted to
the user's face, don't fit over beards, and many people find them hard
to breathe in. Most people don't know how to use them properly,
Gerberding said.
Plus, the CDC has wrestled with whether masks would create a false sense
of security. Perhaps someone who should have stayed home would don an
ill-fitting mask and hop on the subway instead.
Nor does flu only spread through the air. Say someone covers a sneeze
with his or her hand, then touches a doorknob or subway pole. If you
touch that spot next and then put germy hands on your nose or mouth,
you've been exposed. (Hint: Public health experts now recommend sneezing
into your elbow instead.)
It's harder to absent-mindedly rub your nose while wearing a mask.
Conversely, faces get pretty sweaty under masks. Reach under to wipe
that sweat, and users may transfer germs caught on the outside of the
mask straight to the nose, Bell cautioned.
The CDC has long recommended that health workers who care for the sick
during a pandemic be given masks, and the government is stockpiling for
that purpose - amid dire warnings that supplies would quickly disappear
once a pandemic struck.
Thursday's guidelines are the first for the general public, and likely
will change later in the year as long-awaited results from mask research
emerges. Meanwhile, there's no need for personal stockpiles, Bell said,
although "if an individual feels more comfortable having a few at home,
that's not unreasonable."
"When the CDC says 'consider,' the average citizen is going to respond
by saying, 'I really ought to do this,'" said Jeff Levi of the advocacy
group Trust for America's Health.
That will mean shortages, he said, calling for the government to
increase stockpiles.
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Associated Press Writer Dorie Turner in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Pandemic flu information: http://www.pandemicflu.gov