X-Message-Number: 21434
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 10:06:22 -0700
Subject: Mask pore size for SARS
From:  (Tim Freeman)

At 


   
   http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/20/international/asia/20CHIN.html?ex=1048741200&en=4813ab03a64e7ed7&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
   
it says:

   Scientists in Hong Kong and Germany said Tuesday that they might have
   identified the virus responsible for the outbreak, a paramyxovirus
   that belongs to the family of viruses that includes the one that
   causes measles. If that proves correct, it would help explain why the
   virus has spread so readily to doctors and nurses: it is so small that
   it passes through ordinary surgical masks. Masks with smaller pores
   were on sale at some hospitals here [in Beijing] today.

That article doesn't give numbers on what pore sizes are good, but
paramyxoviruses are 150-300nm, according to

   http://www.cat.cc.md.us/courses/bio141/lecguide/unit2/viruses/classvir.html

If you might have to deal with people with SARS you might want to get
appropriate masks.

Google is my friend today.

-- 
Tim Freeman                                                  
Which is worse: ignorance or apathy? Who knows? Who cares?
GPG public key fingerprint ECDF 46F8 3B80 BB9E 575D  7180 76DF FE00 34B1 5C78 

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=21434