Reusability of filtering facepiece respirators after decontamination through drying and germicidal UV irradiation
Introduction During pandemics, such as the SARS-CoV-2, filtering facepiece respirators plays an essential role in protecting healthcare personnel. The recycling of respirators is possible in case of critical shortage, but it raises the question of the effectiveness of decontamination as well as the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2020-10-01
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| Series: | BMJ Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/10/e003110.full |
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| author | David Vernez Jonathan Save Anne Oppliger Nicolas Concha-Lozano Nancy B Hopf Hélène Niculita-Hirzel Grégory Resch Véronique Michaud Laurie Dorange-Pattoret Nicole Charrière Kiattisak Batsungnoen Guillaume Suarez |
| author_facet | David Vernez Jonathan Save Anne Oppliger Nicolas Concha-Lozano Nancy B Hopf Hélène Niculita-Hirzel Grégory Resch Véronique Michaud Laurie Dorange-Pattoret Nicole Charrière Kiattisak Batsungnoen Guillaume Suarez |
| author_sort | David Vernez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction During pandemics, such as the SARS-CoV-2, filtering facepiece respirators plays an essential role in protecting healthcare personnel. The recycling of respirators is possible in case of critical shortage, but it raises the question of the effectiveness of decontamination as well as the performance of the reused respirators.Method Disposable respirators were subjected to ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) treatment at single or successive doses of 60 mJ/cm2 after a short drying cycle (30 min, 70°C). The germicidal efficacy of this treatment was tested by spiking respirators with two staphylococcal bacteriophages (vB_HSa_2002 and P66 phages). The respirator performance was investigated by the following parameters: particle penetration (NaCl aerosol, 10–300 nm), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry and mechanical tensile tests.Results No viable phage particles were recovered from any of the respirators after decontamination (log reduction in virus titre >3), and no reduction in chemical or physical properties (SEM, particle penetrations <5%–6%) were observed. Increasing the UVGI dose 10-fold led to chemical alterations of the respirator filtration media (FTIR) but did not affect the physical properties (particle penetration), which was unaltered even at 3000 mJ/cm2 (50 cycles). When respirators had been used by healthcare workers and undergone decontamination, they had particle penetration significantly greater than never donned respirators.Conclusion This decontamination procedure is an attractive method for respirators in case of shortages during a SARS pandemic. A successful implementation requires a careful design and particle penetration performance control tests over the successive reuse cycles. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e513838ad48b43ddad28f0257e7c3ca6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2059-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Global Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-e513838ad48b43ddad28f0257e7c3ca62024-12-11T18:40:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082020-10-0151010.1136/bmjgh-2020-003110Reusability of filtering facepiece respirators after decontamination through drying and germicidal UV irradiationDavid Vernez0Jonathan Save1Anne Oppliger2Nicolas Concha-Lozano3Nancy B Hopf4Hélène Niculita-Hirzel5Grégory Resch6Véronique Michaud7Laurie Dorange-Pattoret8Nicole Charrière9Kiattisak Batsungnoen10Guillaume Suarez11Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisanté), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandDepartment of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandUnisanté, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandUnit of Forensic Toxicology and Chemistry, CURML, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandUnisanté, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandUnisanté, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandDepartment of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandLaboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites (LPAC), Institute of Materials (IMX), Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandUnisanté, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandUnisanté, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandUnisanté, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandUnisanté, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandIntroduction During pandemics, such as the SARS-CoV-2, filtering facepiece respirators plays an essential role in protecting healthcare personnel. The recycling of respirators is possible in case of critical shortage, but it raises the question of the effectiveness of decontamination as well as the performance of the reused respirators.Method Disposable respirators were subjected to ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) treatment at single or successive doses of 60 mJ/cm2 after a short drying cycle (30 min, 70°C). The germicidal efficacy of this treatment was tested by spiking respirators with two staphylococcal bacteriophages (vB_HSa_2002 and P66 phages). The respirator performance was investigated by the following parameters: particle penetration (NaCl aerosol, 10–300 nm), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry and mechanical tensile tests.Results No viable phage particles were recovered from any of the respirators after decontamination (log reduction in virus titre >3), and no reduction in chemical or physical properties (SEM, particle penetrations <5%–6%) were observed. Increasing the UVGI dose 10-fold led to chemical alterations of the respirator filtration media (FTIR) but did not affect the physical properties (particle penetration), which was unaltered even at 3000 mJ/cm2 (50 cycles). When respirators had been used by healthcare workers and undergone decontamination, they had particle penetration significantly greater than never donned respirators.Conclusion This decontamination procedure is an attractive method for respirators in case of shortages during a SARS pandemic. A successful implementation requires a careful design and particle penetration performance control tests over the successive reuse cycles.https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/10/e003110.full |
| spellingShingle | David Vernez Jonathan Save Anne Oppliger Nicolas Concha-Lozano Nancy B Hopf Hélène Niculita-Hirzel Grégory Resch Véronique Michaud Laurie Dorange-Pattoret Nicole Charrière Kiattisak Batsungnoen Guillaume Suarez Reusability of filtering facepiece respirators after decontamination through drying and germicidal UV irradiation BMJ Global Health |
| title | Reusability of filtering facepiece respirators after decontamination through drying and germicidal UV irradiation |
| title_full | Reusability of filtering facepiece respirators after decontamination through drying and germicidal UV irradiation |
| title_fullStr | Reusability of filtering facepiece respirators after decontamination through drying and germicidal UV irradiation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reusability of filtering facepiece respirators after decontamination through drying and germicidal UV irradiation |
| title_short | Reusability of filtering facepiece respirators after decontamination through drying and germicidal UV irradiation |
| title_sort | reusability of filtering facepiece respirators after decontamination through drying and germicidal uv irradiation |
| url | https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/10/e003110.full |
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