The following article is reproduced with permission from dialoguean online publication covering the latest research.
The 2022 cold and flu season is upon us.The viruses that have been unusually scarce for the past three years are reemerged at a very high level, Caused “three epidemics” COVID-19, Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV.In November this year, the national influenza hospitalization level was highest in 10 years.
We are infectious disease epidemiologist with Researchersour careers have been focused on understanding how viruses spread and how best to stop them.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we and our public health colleagues have had to recover quickly and apply decades of evidence on the transmission of respiratory viruses to chart a way forward.During the course of the pandemic, epidemiologists have built with new certainty In fact, one of our oldest methods of controlling respiratory viruses, face coverings, remains one of the most effective most effective tool in a pandemic.
Unlike many COVID-19 waves since spring 2020, this fall’s surge in respiratory illness was not caused by a single novel virus. Instead, now that masks and other measures have been put on hold, the U.S. is back in classic cold-and-flu season pattern.In a typical year, many viruses co-circulate and cause similar symptoms, resulting in waves of disease that include ever-changing combinations More than 15 types and subtypes of viruses.
This pattern was most pronounced in young children.our research shows Many viruses are hidden in the classroom at the same timeand individual children may be infected two or three viruses even during an illness.
While an inconvenience for most, respiratory viruses like seasonal flu are to blame miss work and school. In some cases, they can cause serious illness, especially in young children and the elderly. After years of battling one virus, parents are now exhausted by the reality of battling many, many viruses.
But there is a straightforward way to reduce the risk to ourselves and others. As far as individual decisions are concerned, wearing a mask is one of the least costly and most effective measures to broadly reduce the spread of many viruses.
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers were studying the effectiveness of masks in reducing the spread of other respiratory viruses.Meta-analysis of viral transmission during Early stage of SARS epidemic in 2002-2003 shows that there is an infection Every sixth person who wears a mask avoidsevery three people wearing an N95 mask.
Wearing masks by healthcare workers has long been considered a major strategy for disease prevention Protecting Young Babies at Risk from RSV infection circulating in a hospital setting. Scientific assessments of mask effectiveness have historically been clouded because mask wearing is often combined with other strategies, such as hand washing.Despite this, the use of personal protective equipment (including masks, gowns, gloves and possibly goggles) has become commonplace in healthcare settings Associated with reduced RSV transmission.
Similarly, one of the largest randomized studies of pre-COVID-19 mask wearing in more than 1,000 University of Michigan dorm students conducted in 2006-2007 found a reduction in symptomatic respiratory illness among mask wearers.especially when Masks combined with hand hygiene.
More recently, researchers measured the amount of virus present in exhaled air from people with respiratory symptoms to study how well masks prevent the release of viral particles. Those who were randomly selected to wear masks had lower levels of respiratory shedding of influenza, rhinoviruses (which cause the common cold), and non-SARS coronaviruses, than people without masks.
Now, three years after the pandemic, the evidence on face masks and our experience with them has grown enormously.Laboratory studies and outbreak investigations have shown that masks Reduce the amount of virus entering the air and reduce viral load into our airways when we breathe. Recent studies have shown that wearing surgical masks in indoor public places Reduce your chances of testing positive for COVID-19 66%, wearing N95/KN95 masks can reduce the chance of testing positive by 83%.
Infection rates drop when schoolchildren wear masks
Our own research has shown that wearing a mask has a significant impact on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and other viruses.in circulation Highly propagable delta variant In Fall 2021, we discovered that the school-wide mask requirement is Linked to reduced COVID-19 infections. School-age children who lived in school districts that did not require mask wearing had higher rates of infection and increased more rapidly during the first few weeks of the school year than school-age children in school districts that required full or partial mask wearing.Similar patterns emerged in other states School mask requirements lifted Spring 2022.
Our initial work in a neighborhood where masks were regularly worn found that, Incidence of non-COVID respiratory illnesses in households decreased by 50% 2020 and 2021 compared to previous years. In our study, the virus now sweeping the U.S. is starting to make a comeback as participants report relaxing face mask wearing and other mitigation measures in early 2022. Oddly, this recovery started with the re-emergence of four “common cold” seasonal coronaviruses.
Unfortunately, vaccines are only available for respiratory diseases for two main reasons: SARS-CoV-2 with influenza. Similarly, antiviral treatments for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza are more common than for RSV.The RSV vaccine that has been in development for many years is expected Coming soonbut failed to stem the current wave of disease in time.
In contrast, face masks can reduce the transmission of all respiratory viruses without the need to tailor interventions to the specific virus being transmitted. Face masks remain a low-cost, low-tech way to keep people healthy throughout the holiday season so more of us can spend precious time with family and friends staying sick.
This article was originally published on dialogue. read source article.
