As an Emergency Medical Technician, do I need to wear a mask or other personal protective equipment (PPE) when treating a person infected with pandemic influenza?
The Department of Homeland Security recommends surgical masks and eye protection during care of patients with pandemic flu. CDC recommends healthcare providers use of the N-95 mask only when a procedure has high likelihood of aerosolized matter, such as a bronchoscopy/intubation. The CDC recommendations, however, are under review. The N-95 mask is difficult to use for several reasons: Fit testing requires medical screening first; the big thick masks are hard to breathe through and not everyone would physically tolerate them; they are not useable with facial hair. These recommendations could change but the science of flu viruses that exists still says that they spread by large droplets, so any mouth/nose/eye protection should be effective.
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