GRAM NEGATIVE BACTERIA (GNB) ISOLATED FROM USED HOME-MADE AND SURGICAL NOSE/FACE MASK

GRAM NEGATIVE BACTERIA (GNB) ISOLATED FROM USED HOME-MADE AND SURGICAL NOSE/FACE MASK

CHAPTER ONE

1. Introduction

Micro-organisms can spread easily, and the air itself (Shivakumar et al., 2017). Bioaerosols formed from specific equipment usages, these are invisible to the naked eye and can remain in the environment as aerosols for long periods of time. These aerosols may be inhaled into the lungs to migrate to the alveoli or may come in contact with the skin or mucous membranes (Shivakumar et al., 2017). Aerosol that are 100 micrometer or more in diameter are thought to be too large to be inhaled; however, they may still come into contact with the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes or may settle down on the exposed hair and clothing. Thus, diseases like pneumonia, influenza, hepatitis, may be transmitted with skin and eye (Shivakumar et al., 2017). Since masks protect the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth, they must be worn wherever there is a potential for splashing, saliva or body fluids, or where there is a probability of the inhalation of aerosols with a potential for transmission of airborne pathogens.

Nose mask is an essential infection control barrier, a very important subject in the prevention of infectious diseases. Surgical masks are fluid- repellent paper filter masks and are suitable for both surgical and non-surgical individuals procedures that generate aerosols.. This three-ply material is made up from a melt blown material placed between non-woven fabrics. The melt-blown material acts as the filter that stops microbes from entering or exiting the mask. Most surgical and home made masks feature pleats/folds commonly three pleated are used allowing the user to expand the mask so it covers from the nose and under the chin (Baratam, 2014). According to the CDC guidelines, surgical nose and home made mask is a personal protective barrier (CDC, 2013). The use of surgical nose masks is synonymous with the use by the public and is so deeply ingrained that to question it would have been unheard of until recently (Lipp, 2013). Unlike the white coats, the filtration abilities of a mask begins to decline after approximately 20 minutes with exposure to moisture and the external surface of a mask gets contaminated by the aerosols present in the environment and becomes a source of cross contamination and thus requires proper disposal, but unfortunately,local resident of AkungbaAkoko, Ondo state Nigeria dispose the used nose/ face mask indiscriminately and reused the nose mask, this create a false sense of protection against various diseases causative agent. This research work is an eye opener to the inherent danger of reused nose/face mask.

A surgical nose mask is a single-use device designed to retain infective agents present in the exhaled breath. Surgical masks are often referred to as face masks, but not all commercially available face masks are regulated as surgical masks a very good example is the home made nose mask. Surgical masks are made to act as barrier to droplets or aerosols while surgical respirators are made to filter out airborne particles including viruses and bacteria. Surgical masks and surgical respirators are marked as medical devices. For example, N95 means that the mask provides the intended effectiveness of filtering 95% of particles with a mass median diameter of 0.3 micrometers(Lipp, 2013).

Non-woven fabric i.eHome made mask, has better bacteria filtration efficiency and air permeability, while remaining less slippery than the woven cloth (Henneberry, 2020). It is most commonly made of polypropylene, or, in combination with polyethylene of PET polyester. The filtration level of a mask will therefore depend on the types of the non-woven fabrics used for its manufacture and these will vary according to the application. According to the standards surgical masks are made to be effective at filtering out particles such as bacteria above 1 micron.

The home made nose mask are nose mask that is hand weaving or swing machine made nose mask, made from different fabric of layered cloth, a, mechanical barrier for inhalation of Bioaerosols. Both Home-made Nose mask (HNM) and Surgical Nose mask (SNM) are effective in preventing the transmission of infectious diseases like influenza virus and Corona virus (Cowling et al., 2019). The level of protection of masks against infectious diseases depends on multiple factors such as the appropriate usage and fit of the mask, level of exposure, compliance, complementary interventions (such as hands washing), early use , as well as the type of mask (Maclintyre, 2014). A recent study indicated that surgical face masks could, in a real-life situation, prevent the transmission of common cold and corona viruses from symptomatic individuals (Greenhalgh, 2020).

A recent study indicated that surgical face masks could in a real-life situation, prevent the transmission of common cold and corona viruses from symptomatic individuals (Greenhalgh, 2020). The WHO recommends that PPE masks should be used based on the risk of exposure (e.g., type of activity) and the transmission dynamics of the pathogen (e.g., contact, droplet, or aerosol). The use of masks may give users a false sense of protection, thus encouraging risk-taking. Although the effectiveness of reusable face masks is unclear, this is one of the reason that necessitate this research work, a response from on the short age of single-use masks states that reusable masks do offer some form of protection .

However, protocols on how to use reusable masks alongside complementary interventions should be developed to increase their affectivity in protecting against infection studied the effectiveness of homemade mask in blocking transmission of the microorganisms in healthy volunteers. Generally, the effectiveness of a cloth (Home-made) masks would depend on the fit, fineness of the cloth and the number of layers indicating that there is potential to design more effective fabrics (Home-made)masks. Most single-use face masks have an inbuilt filter,allowing for the insertion of a filter in a fabrics (Home-made), may increase their filtration capacities. There are concerns that use of masks may give general public a false sense of protection, thus encouraging risk-taking. Protocols should be developed on how to use and clean reusable masks alongside complementary interventions frequent to increase their affectivity in protecting against infection.

1.2       Statement of Problem

During the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the use of home-made and surgical nose/face masks has become increasingly recommended or even mandatory in community settings outside hospitals and care facilities (. Nose/Face masks are most often used to prevent respiratory droplet transmission and reduce transmission from people infected with respiratory viruses to non-infected people (Shivakumar et al., 2017).The efficacy of face masks against different airborne transmissions is now questionable as there is a general assumption that both home-made and surgical nose/face mask may be subject to bacteria infection and unsafe to use due to over-use or improper usage of the mask. In fact, the human saliva contains 100 million bacterial cells per milliliter and harbors a range of pathobionts, including Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Klebsiellapneumoniae, Neisseria, Prevotella, and Veillonella spp. (Gender et al., 2013). This has become a thing of concern thus, this study becomes necessary to examine the Gram Negative Bacteria (GNB) isolated from used home-made and surgical nose / face mask.

1.3       Objective of the Study

The objective of this study is investigate gram negative bacteria isolated from used home-made and surgical nose/face mask.

Specifically the study will

1. Isolate and identify and determine the characteristics of the isolated bacteria
2. Determine the biochemical characteristics of the isolated bacteria
3. Identify the gram negative bacteria isolated from the used home-made / surgical nose / face mask.