Abstract View
Sampling Masks for Source-Receptor Determination
DAVID ALBURTY, Ryan Pletka, Shula Jaron, Brian Patch, InnovaPrep LLC
Abstract Number: 360
Working Group: Health-Related Aerosols
Abstract
This study describes the development and testing of surface and aerosol sampling methods for SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza using a duplex qPCR assay. Surface swabs were used tandem with a novel wearable sampling mask design that features separable added electret sampling filters on both the inside and outside of the mask. A total of 20 surface swabs were collected aboard commercial aircraft, and 38 sampling masks were collected from wearers in homes and commercial aircraft in October, November, and December 2020. Mask filter analysis indicated positive SARS-CoV results for some subjects whose clinical testing results were positive that wore masks for as little as ten minutes. In some cases, testing at a second time point appeared to correlate to the time progression of the illness. In some cases, those who tested clinically positive did not indicate positive results from the mask. Surface swabs taken aboard aircraft were negative or inconclusive. Influenza analysis results were all negative. The mask method shows promise for the identification of those who could potentially be aerosol “super-spreaders” if not wearing masks.