The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have just published a report Human Swine Influenza Investigation following an outbreak of the in Mexico and outbreaks of the swine influenza A (H1N1) viruses in California and Kansas. There are 11 confirmed cases to date and some reports of 80 dead. The airborne route is suspected, though contact precautions and keeping 1-2m from the infected person are recommended. There are many links to help limit infection.
The Australian equivalent of the N95 mask is the P2 mask, but reports in the meadia show surgucal masks being worn for protection. The picture below is from an AAP photo, but there is no recognition that the mask is inappropriate and ill-fitting.
Wrong mask and bad fit
The child is wearing an adult mask and the facial seal would be poor. The woman holding the child has a poorly fitting mask, particularly around the nose. It appears the person in the background has a similar mask. The masks all appear to be surgical masks and are not only inappropriate, but have poor fits.
Official in Mexico City handing out masks
The picture above by AFP shows a an official in Mexico City handing out the wrong type of masks. The design is such it cannot provide a good seal to the face – the mask has to be moulded to fit and have a metal strip in the nose area to force a good seal to the bridge of the nose.
Another poor mask choice - Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral (Reuters)
The problem with a poor choice is that the wearer is essentially unprotected. If they do get the flu, then the mask does afford some protection to others.
It is likely that few health-care or public health officials would be aware of the shortcoming of this type of mask. A culture of the use of surgical masks exists in health-care, dental, veterinary and other health related work that would make the selection of appropriate respiratory protection by the public almost impossible.
