Surgical Masks Work As Well as N95 Respirators Against Influenza, Study Says

In an editorial published Oct. 1 in the online issue of the JAMA, writers noted the differing opinions on the issue. The World Health Organization and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, "recommend the use of medical masks for most patient care activities," while the CDC recommends N95 respirators, wrote Arjun Srinivasan, MD of the CDC and Trish M. Perl, MD, of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

And in September, the Institute of Medicine also "supported" the use of N95 respirators."

"A single study will not end the debate over influenza respiratory protection for" healthcare providers, Srinivasan and Perl wrote. "Unfortunately, this intense discussion over respiratory protection has distracted attention from the critical importance of implementing other strategies known to prevent the transmission of influenza in healthcare settings" including vaccination.

Among healthcare providers, influenza vaccination rates remain low at about 45%, the authors wrote.

They closed by writing, "That this study is, to our knowledge, the first and only published randomized trial assessing respiratory protection for preventing influenza transmission is a sad commentary on the state of research in this area."