Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

February 22, 2021

A Comparison of Performance Metrics for Cloth Face Masks as Source Control Devices for Simulated Cough and Exhalation Aerosols

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[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A study evaluating 15 reusable cloth masks (including face masks, neck gaiters, and bandanas), medical masks, and N95 filtering facepiece respirators as source control devices for aerosols produced during simulated coughing and exhalation found that the source control collection efficiencies for cloth masks ranged from 17 to 71% for coughing and 35 to 66% for exhalation, and filtration efficiencies ranged from 1.4% to 98%. 

Lindsley et al. (Feb 19, 2021). A Comparison of Performance Metrics for Cloth Face Masks as Source Control Devices for Simulated Cough and Exhalation Aerosols. Pre-print downloaded Feb 22 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.16.21251850