ArticlePloS one2021
Non-invasive adapted N-95 mask sampling captures variation in viral particles expelled by COVID-19 patients: Implications in understanding SARS-CoV2 transmission.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 shedding in exhaled material: a systematic review.Epidemiology and infection · 2025Pooled it
- Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and Biomarkers in Device-Captured Droplets From the Lung.CHEST pulmonary · 2025Article
- Implementation of facemask sampling for the detection of infectious individuals with SARS-CoV-2 in high stakes clinical examinations - a feasibility study.Future healthcare journal · 2024Article
- Pediatric Tuberculosis: A Review of Evidence-Based Best Practices for Clinicians and Health Care Providers.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Diagnostic performance of respirators for collection and detection of SARS-CoV-2.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Exhaled SARS-CoV-2 RNA viral load kinetics measured by facemask sampling associates with household transmission.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2023Article
- Assessing the performance of regular surgical nose masks as a sampling method for SARS-CoV-2 detection in a cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2023Article
- Environmental Contamination of SARS-CoV-2 Delta VOC by COVID-19 Patients Staying in the Hospital for More Than Two Weeks.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2023Article
- Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in exhaled air using non-invasive embedded strips in masks.American journal of infection control · 2022Article
- Recent advances in facemask devices forTrends in analytical chemistry : TRAC · 2022Review
- Viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in droplets and bioaerosols directly captured during breathing, speaking and coughing.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Article
- Variation in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Bioaerosol Production in Exhaled Breath.Open forum infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Feasibility and utility of facemask sampling in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 during an ongoing pandemic.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2021Article
- Environmental sampling of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Delta variant in the inpatient wards of a hospital in Nanjing.Annals of translational medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Infectious respiratory particles expelled by SARS-CoV-2 positive patients are attributed to be the key driver of COVID-19 transmission. Understanding how and by whom the virus is transmitted can help implement better disease control strategies. Here we have described the use of a noninvasive mask sampling method to detect and quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA in respiratory particles expelled by COVID-19 patients and discussed its relationship to transmission risk. Respiratory particles of 31 symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 positive patients and 31 asymptomatic healthy volunteers were captured on N-95 masks layered with a gelatin membrane in a 30-minute process that involved talking/reading, coughing, and tidal breathing. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was detected and quantified using rRT-PCR in the mask and in concomitantly collected nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) samples. The data were analyzed with respect to patient demographics and clinical presentation. Thirteen of 31(41.9%) patients showed SARS-COV-2 positivity in both the mask and NPS samples, while 16 patients were mask negative but NPS positive. Two patients were both mask and NPS negative. All healthy volunteers except one were mask and NPS negative. The mask positive patients had significantly lower NPS Ct value (26) compared to mask negative patients (30.5) and were more likely to be rapid antigen test positive. The mask positive patients could be further grouped into low emitters (expelling <100 viral copies) and high emitters (expelling >1000 viral copies). The study presents evidence for variation in emission of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles by COVID-19 patients reflecting differences in infectivity and transmission risk among individuals. The results conform to reported secondary infection rates and transmission and also suggest that mask sampling could be explored as an effective tool to assess individual transmission risks, at different time points and during different activities.
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