PANDEMIC AND REUSE OF N95 FILTERED FACE MASKS

Abstract

Respiratory tract infections diseases form an important place in terms of public health due to their ability to
be transmitted to many people in a short time. In the historical process, mankind has struggled with many
challenging pandemics that caused serious losses. Today, the whole world is struggling with the COVID-19
pandemic which is also transmitted through respiration. In this process, the use of personal protective
equipment and especially masks is essential for breaking the infection chain in order to protect healthcare
workers as well as the entire society from infectious diseases. During the pandemic period the need for use
of masks especially among protective equipment increases in healthcare professionals. It is necessary to
use filter face masks with high protection, especially during close contact with patients such as diagnosis,
treatment, and interventional procedures. Countries can provide an appropriate and a sufficient number of
protective equipment for healthcare professionals in line with their decisions in health policies. However, in
some cases, long-term or re-use of filter face masks may be required. Re-use can be considered as a
solution in certain procedures if it is done within the framework of certain rules when there are problems
in the supply process of filter face masks.

Keywords

• Pandemic
• N95 masks
• reuse

PANDEMİ VE N95 FİLTRELİ YÜZ MASKELERİNİN YENİDEN KULLANIMI

Abstract

Enfeksiyon hastalıkları içinde solunum yolu ile bulaşan hastalıklar kısa sürede pek çok insana bulaşabilme özelliği nedeniyle toplum sağlığı açısından önemli bir yer oluşturmaktadır. Tarihsel süreçte insanoğlu zorlu pek çok pandemi mücadele etmiş ve ciddi kayıplar vermiştir. Günümüzde yine solunum yoluyla bulaşan COVID-19 pandemisiyle tüm Dünya mücadele etmektedir. Koruyucu ve tedavi edici hizmetlerin birlikte yürütülmesi, sektörler arası işbirliğinin gerekliliği pandemi yönetimi açısından oldukça hassas bir konudur. Bu süreçte tüm toplumun olduğu kadar sağlık çalışanlarının da bulaşıcı hastalıklardan korunmaları adına kişisel koruyucu ekipman ve özellikle maske kullanımı enfeksiyon zincirini kırmak için gerekli bir uygulamadır. Sağlık çalışanlarının pandemi döneminde koruyucu ekipmanlar içerisinde özellikle maske kullanım ihtiyacı da artmaktadır. Ülkelerin sağlık politikalarında almış olduğu kararlar doğrultusunda sağlık çalışanlarının uygun ve yeterli sayıda koruyucu ekipman sağlayabilmeleri muhtemeldir. Ancak bazı durumlarda filtreli yüz maskelerinin uzun süreli veya yeniden kullanımı gerekebilir. Yeniden kullanım belirli proserdürlerde, belli kurallar çerçevesince yapıldığı takdirde, filtreli yüz maskelerinin yeterli sayıda tedarik sürecinde sorun yaşandığında bir çözüm yolu olarak düşünülebilir.

Keywords

• Pandemi
• N95 maskeler
• yeniden kullanım

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