A US Institute of Medicine task force has just reported on the use of PPE with the H1N1 Swine Flu. Of particular interest is early findings from Professor MacIntyre’s (University of New South Wales) study into PPE in Chinese hospitals Major findings of the task force from an occupational hygiene […]
Respiratory protection
The National Academies Press has a free download “Reusability of Facemasks During an Influenza Pandemic: Facing the Flu (2006)“. Unfortunately they see a huge need for more research in the area, so the advice tends to be a bit of a guess.
Reusing flu facemasks
CBS News in Canada has a disturbinbg video of the use use of Canadian chrysotile asbestos in India. No effective respiratory protection was seen to be used in the dusty workplace where asbestos was spun.
“Canada’s Ugly Secret”
Much could be learned about the spread of Swine Flu from the spread of the disease on the Pacific Dawn, which recently berthed in Sydney. For some reason the public health officials let passengers leave the ship and fly all over Australia. To me it would have been prudent to […]
Influenza, Cruise Ships and Air-conditioning
A recent paper MacIntyre, C. R., S. Cauchemez, et al. (2009). “Face Mask Use and Control of Respiratory Virus Transmission in Households.” Emerging Infectious Diseases 15(2): 233-241. is available from the CDC as free download Unfortunately, despite the warning
Surgical masks vs P2 (N95) respirators #2
Even though the WHO has renamed Swine Flu “Influenza A H1N1“, I suspect the popular name will remain Swine Flu. The National Academies Press have a number of books that can be downloaded for free as PDF files (you need to sign in with your email address) that are useful, […]
Swine Flu books
I was called by the ABC National Radio program “AM” at 6:30 this morning to be interviewed about the use of face masks for protection against swine flu. The interview formed part of a story “Rush for surgical masks at Sydney airport” on the ABC website.
Swine flu and surgical masks
The CDC has issued good information on the swine flu outbreak, but the media is unaware that pictures of people wearing masks have the wrong mask and the fit is also poor. Little protection is given to the wearer. Few healthcare people would be aware of this shortcoming.
Swine Flu Respiratory Protection
These images of US track cyclists arriving in Beijing were posted by the NY Times. It appears that
US Olympic Face Masks
It is likely that some Olympic athletes will wear face masks at the Olympics to counter the effects of poor air quality and prevent asthmatic attacks.