NIOSH trying to improve respirators for HCWs
Extensive plan focuses on design, effectiveness
If an influenza pandemic strikes, public health officials may not know enough about influenza transmission and respiratory protection to adequately protect health care workers. Acknowledging that weakness, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has proposed an extensive "action plan" to spur research and improve design of respiratory protection.
"Due to this lack of knowledge on influenza transmission, it is not possible at the present time to definitively inform health care workers about what [personal protective equipment] is critical and what level of protection this equipment will provide in a pandemic," NIOSH stated.
The proposed NIOSH action plan would call for:
- surveillance of influenza transmission that would seek to connect the hospital-based spread of flu to infection control practices and the use of respirators;
- a study of the effectiveness of surgical masks and N95 filtering facepiece respirators in protecting health care workers from aerosolized particles from coughing patients;
- studies of the wearability of respirators for long periods of time, including the impact on oxygen and carbon dioxide levels of health care workers;
- the establishment of performance requirements for N95s and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) that are specific to health care;
- studies on fit-testing, decontamination and reusability of respirators.
(Editor's note: A copy of the NIOSH action plan is available at http://www.cdc.gov.)
If an influenza pandemic strikes, public health officials may not know enough about influenza transmission and respiratory protection to adequately protect health care workers.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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