HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., March 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Crosstex
International, a subsidiary of Cantel Medical Corp. (NYSE: CMN),
and Prestige Ameritech, the only two major U.S.-based medical mask
manufacturers have joined forces to bring attention to a glaring
void in public health research and policy – that, if addressed, has
the potential to more quickly provide a simple, effective tool to
mitigate the spread of influenza and other respiratory borne
viruses. The awareness campaign comes in response to a new study,
"Exposure to Influenza Virus Aerosols During Routine Patient Care,"
published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, showing that
influenza viruses may spread as far as six feet from a person
coughing or sneezing, and that some people, referred to as "super
spreaders," may be more likely to spread the virus. The study,
supported by the Department of Health and Human Services with a
$600,000 research grant, pointed
specifically to concerns for healthcare workers being exposed to
coughs from sick patients. Yet government research and policy
continues to overlook face masks as a feasible protection measure
for both the healthcare industry and the general public.
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"There is evidence to show a much better opportunity to protect
healthcare workers through infection source control – which face
masks can provide – but the research focus is bent toward primary
protection. While the CDC recommends the use of face masks by sick
patients in healthcare settings to limit the spread of infection,
surprisingly, there is no such policy for the general public," says
Matt Conlon, VP Research and Policy
at Cantel Medical. "At the same time, face masks are recommended
for use by the general public during pandemic events, yet the
government has no supply preparedness plan to fulfill the demand
that may come as a result of that recommendation."
During the American Medical Association and Infectious Diseases
Society of America's (AMA/IDSA) recent Policy Forum on Seasonal and
Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, Dr. Robin
Robinson, Director of BARDA, an agency within the Centers
for Disease Control (CDC) that is tasked with development of public
health emergency countermeasures, confirmed the void. When asked
about the government's plan for U.S. surge capacity for critical
items such as medical face masks and respirators, Dr. Robinson
stated, "...we look for surgical masks two weeks after a pandemic
hits and they're gone because only 5% of face masks are made in the
U.S. If we don't incentivize U.S. manufacturers, even (sic)
that resource will be gone."
Mike Bowen, Executive Vice
President of Texas surgical mask
manufacturer Prestige Ameritech, commented, "We saw it first hand
during the H1N1 pandemic. U.S. manufacturers were at full
capacity within two weeks. Hospitals that normally depend on
foreign sources were calling for masks, and we couldn't help
them. Government officials have acknowledged very clearly
that they couldn't create or support a policy for the use of face
masks by the general public because there just isn't enough
domestic manufacturing capacity even for healthcare
needs."
"A production issue -- which can be addressed -- should not
supersede the risk to public health." Conlon explained. "The
remaining manufacturers that still operate in America can help
change this. However, the bigger challenge is driving the research
that policymakers, healthcare professionals, public health
officials, and the public-at-large need in order to make decisions
on the potentially significant role that face masks may play in
stemming the spread of infection. On the private sector side,
we are taking a lead role on mask research and innovation, but it's
not enough. We need a bigger effort to include research and
clear policy that can help the general public; cough and sneeze
etiquette promoting the use of elbow containment, tissues, and hand
washing simply isn't enough."
To add to the challenge, the Journal of Infectious Diseases
study also suggested that traditional "loose fitting" surgical
masks worn by healthcare workers may not be enough to protect them.
While there are no FDA-required standards for fit, manufacturers
are beginning to address the issue with a new category of "fitted
masks." According to published research from the Aerosol Mechanics
Laboratory of Stony Brook University Hospital, fitted masks provide
double the particle filtration as compared to standard loose
fitting masks.
"Face masks are primarily intended to protect others from the
wearer, although they also serve doctors and nurses in protecting
them against large droplets or sprays from infected patients. In
high flu seasons, many healthcare facilities follow CDC source
control guidelines by encouraging sick patients to sit apart from
others and to wear face masks when they are in contained areas like
an ER," explained Dr. Stephen S. Morse, a professor of clinical
epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public
Health, who also served on the Steering Committee of the Institute
of Medicine's Forum on Microbial Threats, and currently on the
National Academy of Sciences' Standing Committee on the Department
of Defense's Programs to Counter Biological Threats.
"The new findings in the influenza virus aerosols study in The
Journal of Infectious Diseases is just another indicator of our
long-standing ignorance of something so familiar as the flu – not
only how it spreads, but how best to defend against it," continued
Dr. Morse. "We do know that these infectious particles originate
from the upper respiratory tract and are released through the mouth
and nose. Respiratory source control should certainly be an area of
research focus and government policy interest."
Although flu season is winding down in the US, the worldwide
public health community has already detected a new SARS-like virus,
known as the novel coronavirus (NCoV) – a type that typically
spreads like other respiratory infections such as flu, travelling
in airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
NCoV belongs to the same virus family as SARS, or Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome, a coronavirus that emerged in 2002 and killed
about a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide.
"With any flu or virus outbreak, there is a middle period –
which can be as long as six months – until a vaccine arrives.
During that time, there is a serious lack of options for
non-pharmaceutical intervention," commented Dr. Morse. "Funding
more extensive research has the potential to unlock significant
answers about what countermeasures work most effectively to reduce
illness and death associated with respiratory viruses."
About Cantel Medical
Cantel Medical Corp. (NYSE: CMN) is a leading provider of
infection prevention and control products in the healthcare market.
Our products include water purification equipment, sterilants,
disinfectants and cleaners, specialized medical device reprocessing
systems for endoscopy and renal dialysis, disposable infection
control products primarily for dental and GI endoscopy markets,
dialysate concentrates and other dialysis supplies, hollow fiber
membrane filtration and separation products for medical and
non-medical applications, and specialty packaging for infectious
and biological specimens. We also provide technical maintenance for
our products and offer compliance training services for the
transport of infectious and biological specimens. For more,
visit www.cantelmedical.com.
SOURCE Cantel Medical Corp.