A new study has examined the effectiveness of masks in the fight against the corona pandemic.
The results suggest a previously unimagined but enormously important effect on Covid-19.
In the fight against the spread of corona,
mouth and nose protection has
become an important measure.
The
effect of masks
has now been
examined again in a study.
The results show another,
previously unimagined, effect
on infections with Sars-CoV-2.
Rostock - Since April 2020,
i.e.
for around nine months, the
mask requirement has been in effect
in Germany
.
People have to wear mouth and nose protection when shopping, on public transport or when visiting a doctor.
Initially, the use of so-called everyday masks was still controversial even among experts.
A recommendation from the WHO, for example, was only issued months after the start of the corona pandemic.
The use of the masks in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus is now considered undisputed among experts and politicians.
The mask requirement has even been expanded: medical masks must now be worn in shops and on buses and trains.
They should not only guarantee external protection, but also strengthen self-protection.
Corona study: Research results show the true effectiveness of masks
A
study
by Prof. Emil Reisinger, tropical medicine specialist at Rostock University Medical Center, has now re-examined the
effect of masks
and confirmed: “The model calculations confirm that the use of masks, especially in conjunction with other non-medical measures (for example Compliance with a minimum distance), the
spread of SARS-CoV-2 is greatly slowed down
and the risk of infection is reduced, "it says there.
Mask study: previously unimagined protection from Covid-19 proven
And
the results of the study published in the Ärzteblatt suggest
another, possibly even more important benefit
: Apparently, mouth and nose protection can also contribute to a
milder course of the disease
in the event of an infection
.
"Other observations also suggest that the risk of developing symptoms of the disease after an infection with SARS-CoV-2
depends heavily on the infection dose,
" said the reasoning.
Thus, masks probably not only protect the environment of the wearer, but also the wearer himself from COVID-19, concludes Reisinger.
The reason for this positive effect could therefore be the lower viral load that people inhale through mouth and nose protection.
Reisinger was even able to identify an
effect on mortality
: "Experience to date also suggests that in countries where a high proportion of the population wore masks from the start, the COVID-19 pandemic claims significantly fewer lives than in countries in which this is not the case. "
Mask study: observations from the Swiss army corroborate results
Also
findings from units of Swiss armed forces
would support this observation.
There, masks and minimum distances were only arranged for two companies housed together nine days after the first case of infection.
30 percent of the soldiers were infected
with
Covid-19
, and antibodies were detected in 62 percent of the asymptomatic soldiers.
In another company, in which masks were worn before the first case of infection,
not a single one was sick
.
Antibodies were found in only 15 percent.
Corona: Study on the effectiveness of masks - conclusion of the results
In
conclusion, the study summarizes the results
as follows: “The data cited in their entirety suggest that wearing face masks in public spaces
can make a decisive contribution
to
reducing the spread
of SARS-CoV-2.
Even where the infection cannot be avoided, reducing the infection dose will likely
prevent symptomatic diseases
or reduce the
severity of the diseases
”.
To what extent the available data can be transferred to the infection process with mutated SARS-CoV-2 is unclear, according to Reisinger.
(va)
