ArticleScientific reports2021
The SARS-CoV-2 viral load in COVID-19 patients is lower on face mask filters than on nasopharyngeal swabs.
Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 shedding in exhaled material: a systematic review.Epidemiology and infection · 2025Pooled it
- A Digital Mask-Voiceprint System for Postpandemic Surveillance and Tracing Based on the STRONG Strategy.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Heterogeneous-Nucleation Biosensor for Long-Term Collection and Mask-Based Self-Detection of SARS-CoV-2.Biosensors · 2023Article
- Diagnostic performance of respirators for collection and detection of SARS-CoV-2.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Mask device as a new wearable sampler for breath analysis: what can we expect in the future?Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 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
- Testing of worn face mask and saliva for SARS-CoV-2.Frontiers in public health · 2023Observational
- Molecular detection of SARS-COV-2 in exhaled breath at the point-of-need.Biosensors & bioelectronics · 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
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
33 authors at 10 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Face masks and personal respirators are used to curb the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory droplets; filters embedded in some personal protective equipment could be used as a non-invasive sample source for applications, including at-home testing, but information is needed about whether filters are suited to capture viral particles for SARS-CoV-2 detection. In this study, we generated inactivated virus-laden aerosols of 0.3-2 microns in diameter (0.9 µm mean diameter by mass) and dispersed the aerosolized viral particles onto electrostatic face mask filters. The limit of detection for inactivated coronaviruses SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-NL63 extracted from filters was between 10 to 100 copies/filter for both viruses. Testing for SARS-CoV-2, using face mask filters and nasopharyngeal swabs collected from hospitalized COVID-19-patients, showed that filter samples offered reduced sensitivity (8.5% compared to nasopharyngeal swabs). The low concordance of SARS-CoV-2 detection between filters and nasopharyngeal swabs indicated that number of viral particles collected on the face mask filter was below the limit of detection for all patients but those with the highest viral loads. This indicated face masks are unsuitable to replace diagnostic nasopharyngeal swabs in COVID-19 diagnosis. The ability to detect nucleic acids on face mask filters may, however, find other uses worth future investigation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.