[en] Face masks and personal respirators are used to curb the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory droplets; filters embedded in some personal protective equipment could be used as a non-invasive sample source for applications, including at-home testing, but information is needed about whether filters are suited to capture viral particles for SARS-CoV-2 detection. In this study, we generated inactivated virus-laden aerosols of 0.3-2 microns in diameter (0.9 µm mean diameter by mass) and dispersed the aerosolized viral particles onto electrostatic face mask filters. The limit of detection for inactivated coronaviruses SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-NL63 extracted from filters was between 10 to 100 copies/filter for both viruses. Testing for SARS-CoV-2, using face mask filters and nasopharyngeal swabs collected from hospitalized COVID-19-patients, showed that filter samples offered reduced sensitivity (8.5% compared to nasopharyngeal swabs). The low concordance of SARS-CoV-2 detection between filters and nasopharyngeal swabs indicated that number of viral particles collected on the face mask filter was below the limit of detection for all patients but those with the highest viral loads. This indicated face masks are unsuitable to replace diagnostic nasopharyngeal swabs in COVID-19 diagnosis. The ability to detect nucleic acids on face mask filters may, however, find other uses worth future investigation.
Disciplines :
Cardiovascular & respiratory systems
Author, co-author :
Smolinska, Agnieszka; Owlstone Medical Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK ; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Jessop, David S; Owlstone Medical Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Pappan, Kirk L; Owlstone Medical Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
De Saedeleer, Alexandra; Owlstone Medical Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Kang, Amerjit; Owlstone Medical Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Martin, Alexandra L; Owlstone Medical Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Allsworth, Max; Owlstone Medical Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Tyson, Charlotte; Owlstone Medical Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Bos, Martine P; inBiome B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Clancy, Matt; inBiome B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Morel, Mike; Cambridge Clinical Laboratories Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Cooke, Tony; Cambridge Clinical Laboratories Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
Dymond, Tom; Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
Harris, Claire; Department of Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK ; University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Galloway, Jacqui; Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
Bresser, Paul; Pulmonology, OLVG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dijkstra, Nynke; Pulmonology, OLVG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jagesar, Viresh; Pulmonology, OLVG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Savelkoul, Paul H M; Department of Medical Microbiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Care and Public Health Research Institute (Caphri), Maastricht, The Netherlands
Beuken, Erik V H; Department of Medical Microbiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Care and Public Health Research Institute (Caphri), Maastricht, The Netherlands
Nix, Wesley H V; Department of Medical Microbiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Care and Public Health Research Institute (Caphri), Maastricht, The Netherlands
LOUIS, Renaud ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > > Service de pneumologie - allergologie
DELVAUX, Muriel ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > > Service de pneumologie - allergologie
CALMES, Doriane ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > > Service de pneumologie - allergologie
Ernst, Benoit ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques > Pneumologie - Allergologie
Pollini, Simona; Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy ; Microbiology and Virology Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
Peired, Anna; Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences "Mario Serio", University of Florence, Florence, Italy
GUIOT, Julien ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > > Service de pneumologie - allergologie
Tomassetti, Sara; Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy ; Interventional Pulmonology Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
Budding, Andries E; inBiome B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands
McCaughan, Frank; Department of Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK ; University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Marciniak, Stefan J; Department of Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK ; University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
van der Schee, Marc P; Owlstone Medical Ltd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK. marc.vanderschee@owlstone.co.uk
We thank Jonathan Lawson of Owlstone Medical Ltd (OML) for assistance in figure preparation and William Murch and Shipra Mondal for logistical support. We also thank Jonathan Lawson, Olga Gandelman, Robert Mohney, Jason Kinchen, and Jason Cooper of OML reviewing and providing helpful feedback on early versions of the manuscript. We thank the NIHR Respiratory Translational Research Collaborative for supporting work at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. This project has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking (JU) under Grant agreement No 101005122. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA. This publication reflects the authors’ views; neither IMI, the European Union, EFPIA nor the DRAGON Consortium, are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein. Frank McCaughan is supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). This paper represents independent research supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20014). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is a partnership between Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).DSJ, KLP, AK, ALM, MA, CT, and MPvdS are employed by Owlstone Medical Ltd (OML); ADS was involved in site coordination and was employed at OML during the patient recruitment, and AS is consultant to OML. The commercial management of OML played no role in the design of the study, choice of enrolled patients, review and interpretation of data, preparation of the manuscript, or final approval of the manuscript. MPB, MC, and AEB are employed by inBiome B.V. SJM received no funds from OML. SJM is supported by the Medical Research Council (MR/R009120/1, MR/V028669/1), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/ R03558X/1), British Lung Foundation (MKMRFPG18-6), June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund (JH-18-07), the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20014), Royal Papworth Hospital, and the Frank McCaughan is supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). This paper represents independent research supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20014). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is a partnership between Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). MM, TC, TD, CH, JG, PB, ND, VJ, PHMS, EVHB, WHVN, RL, MD, DC, BE, SP, AP, JG, ST declare no competing interests.
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