Effects of Mask Reuse on the Oropharyngeal, Skin and Mask Microbiome
| Autor: | Carter Merenstein, Ayannah S Fitzgerald, Layla A Khatib, Jevon Graham-Wooten, Frederic D Bushman, Ronald G Collman |
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| Rok vydání: | 2023 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | The Journal of Infectious Diseases. |
| ISSN: | 1537-6613 0022-1899 |
| Popis: | Background Face masks have been critical in the COVID-19 pandemic, but supplies were sometimes limited and disposable masks contribute greatly to environmental waste. Studies suggest that filtration capacity is retained with repeated use, and surveys indicate many people re-use surgical masks. However, the impact of mask re-use on the host is under-studied. Methods We applied 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate the bacterial microbiome of the facial skin and oropharynx of individuals randomized to wearing fresh surgical masks daily versus masks re-used for one week. Results Compared to daily fresh masks, re-use was associated with increased richness (number of taxa) of the skin microbiome and trend towards greater diversity, but no difference in the oropharyngeal microbiome. Used masks had either skin-dominant or oropharynx-dominant bacterial sequences, and re-used masks had >100-fold higher bacterial content but no change in composition compared to those used for one day. Conclusions One week of mask re-use increased the number of low-abundance taxa on the face but did not impact the upper respiratory microbiome. Thus, face mask re-use has little impact on the host microbiome, though whether minor changes to the skin microbiome might relate to reported skin sequelae of masking (“maskne”) remains to be determined. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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