Abstract
Decontaminating N95 respirators for reuse could mitigate shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the United States Center for Disease Control has identified Ultraviolet-C irradiation as one of the most promising methods for N95 decontamination, very few studies have evaluated the efficacy of Ultraviolet-C for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation. In addition, most decontamination studies are performed using mask coupons that do not recapitulate the complexity of whole masks. We sought to directly evaluate the efficacy of Ultraviolet-C mediated inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 on N95 respirators. To that end we created a portable UV-C light-emitting diode disinfection chamber and tested decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 at different sites on two models of N95 respirator. We found that decontamination efficacy depends on mask model, material and location of the contamination on the mask. Our results emphasize the need for caution when interpreting efficacy data of UV-C decontamination methods.
Highlights
The limited availability of N95 respirators during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has forced many healthcare workers to reuse respirators designed for one-time use
We tested decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 on two masks models, 3M 1860 and 3M 8210. Both masks are approved for healthcare worker use during the COVID-19 pandemic, their outer layers have different shapes and are comprised of different materials
We wondered whether these differences would impact the efficacy of UV-C based decontamination
Summary
The limited availability of N95 respirators during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has forced many healthcare workers to reuse respirators designed for one-time use. To evaluate whether the 3D structure of the masks impacted inactivation of SARS-CoV-2, we tested decontamination at several sites on the respirators.
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