Airborne Pathogens: Elusive and Dangerous

Wang: Respiratory protection, or the lack thereof, can obviously be life threatening. Purchasers seeking protection for their workers should not be satisfied by minimum protection, and should seek better than “the least” that is recommended by regulatory agencies. The US Department of Labor says, “NIOSH-approved disposable particulate respirators (e.g., N95, N99, or N100) are the minimum level of respiratory protection that should be worn.” NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) also says that, “Surgical masks are recommended only as a last resort for health care and medical transport workers exposed to SARS patients when no NIOSH-approved respirator equivalent to or greater than the N-95 is available.”

Key respirator qualities and characteristics that would provide proper respiratory and contact protection as well as be safely and conveniently compatible with a wide range of working environments to allow cost effective, full scale implementation, would include ≥ 99.97 percent filtration efficiency, approved by NIOSH (minimum HEPA level efficiency); universal fit — not necessary to fit test users so they are usable by any employee and may be shared with proper decontamination between uses; reusable to provide long term cost effectiveness; be free of bulky, weighty, or extending apparatus so as to not impede aggressive and agile movements as may be required in the work environment; be comfortable and convenient to the wearer to facilitate use compliance; be rugged and reliable for routine, daily use and for extended periods during emergencies; provide visual indication of filtering and operation effectiveness and safety.

Upon close examination, implementing a PAPR- (Powered Air Purifying Respirator) based infection control program for your HCWs (healthcare workers) can be both an increase in HCW safety as well as an advantage to the bottom line.

In addition, some facilities have considered assigning HCWs, who have a high risk of exposure to airborne pathogens, a PAPR to take home to minimize the likelihood of absenteeism in the event of a pandemic.

Lastly, conduct yearly refresher respirator usage courses for your HCWs so in the event of a pandemic, HCWs are least likely to be in a “panic” mode and remember how to use their respirators properly and effectively.