Protective performance of medical fabrics used in protective clothing and masks against viral particles smaller than severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prompted proactive infection control measures, including improved hand hygiene and mask-wearing; however, viral respiratory infections, such as those caused by rhinoviruses, were not fully controlled by such public health measures during the pandemic. Because rhinovirus, a member of the Picornaviridae family, has a smaller particle size compared with coronaviruses, we investigated the protective performance of personal protective equipment (PPE), including protective clothing and masks, against picornaviruses.

METHODS: We analyzed the protective performance of 4 medical fabrics used in commercially available PPE, categorized by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) grades, under realistic viral aerosol and liquid conditions. The evaluation experiments were conducted using a newly developed test device with inactivated poliovirus (IPV), Picornaviridae family, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

RESULTS: Woven and nonwoven fabrics of higher ISO grades provided substantial resistance to IPV aerosols. Testing via qPCR showed that resistance to IPV-aerosol penetration differed significantly, even between fabrics within the same ISO category. In contrast, the fabrics in the lower ISO grades did not exhibit lower resistance to liquid drops than those in higher grades.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings may serve to inform optimal PPE selection by healthcare workers.