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Influence of wearing time on efficacy of disposable surgical masks as microbial barrier

Influência do tempo de utilização de máscaras cirúrgicas descartáveis na sua eficácia como barreira microbiana

The present study evaluated the efficacy of disposable surgical masks as a microbial barrier with 95% of Bacteria Filtration Efficacy (BFE) according to the wearing time (1, 2, 4 and 6 hours). The masks showed a decrease in efficacy after a 4-hour wearing time.

surgical masks; hospital infection; microbial barrier


Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia USP - ICB III - Dep. de Microbiologia, Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 2415, Cidade Universitária, 05508-900 São Paulo, SP - Brasil, Ramal USP 7979, Tel. / Fax: (55 11) 3813-9647 ou 3037-7095 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: bjm@sbmicrobiologia.org.br