A University of Alberta engineering researcher has developed a new way to treat common surgical masks so they are capable of trapping and killing airborne viruses. His research findings appear in the journal Scientific Reports, published by Nature Publishing Group. Hyo-Jick Choi, a professor in the University of Alberta Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, noticed […]
Study measures effectiveness of different face mask materials when coughing
A team of researchers have tested everything from t-shirts and socks to jeans and vacuum bags to determine what type of mask material is most effective at trapping the ultrafine particles which may contain viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge and Northwestern University, tested the […]
Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths in 1918 Influenza Pandemic
The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria […]
Cloth masks: Dangerous to your health?
The widespread use of cloth masks by healthcare workers may actually put them at increased risk of respiratory illness and viral infections and their global use should be discouraged, according to a UNSW study. The results of the first randomized clinical trial (RCT) to study the efficacy of cloth masks were published in the journal BMJ […]
Will Wearing a Mask Protect You Against Coronavirus?
Fear of coronavirus infection has led to a massive increase in sales of surgical face masks and respirators. While the evidence is conflicting, some studies suggest healthy people do limit their chances of infection if wearing a face mask, especially properly fitted N95 or N100 respirators. With 663,828 reported COVID-19 cases across 177 countries and territories as […]