Which masks are best for preventing viruses? Pandemics?

I'm very interested in adding some masks to my emergency-preparedness kit for the family, but it seems that I keep on reading conflicting information about what 'type' of masks to buy for the best prevention of governmentally created viruses/pandemics like the ';swine flu.'





Thanks!!


~Keep ya eyes to the skiesWhich masks are best for preventing viruses? Pandemics?
';governmentally created viruses/pandemics'; -haha you got a point here. Who knows, maybe H1N1 is just the beginning. But it's not fair to put all blame on the government, sometimes they're caused by developing antibiotic resistance of some virulent pathogens, cross-species susceptibility, at times a consequence of some man-made events such as global warming (as Al Gore said), and most often explained by the epidemiologic triad of disease (interactions among pathogens, susceptible hosts and their environment).





Masks maybe effective for diseases whose mode of transmission is through the respiratory route, either airborne (such as TB, measles, varicella, SARS, avian flu) or droplet (whose nuclei size is way larger than airborne and transmitabble only within 3-feet from the source or host, such as meningococcemia, pneumonia, meningitis, seasonal flu, H1H1, etc.). Ordinary masks will suffice for droplet-borne pathogens in addition to goggles and strict handwashing. Airborne pathogens are too small to be filtered by ordinary masks, and for this purpose the need for ultrafiltrable masks like N95, but its only effective if you know how to use it properly. Well the most ideal to use against bioterrorism (anthrax, smallpox etc.) and in immunosuppression (in organ transplants) is a HEPA (High-effficiency Particulate Airflow) filter because its theoretically 99.9% efficient, but I haven't seen one for home use, only in hospitals for I think it costs $2,000 to $3000 each!





PS. The best and most practical way to control the spread of infection is still plain old proper HANDWASHING, coupled with a healthy lifestyle away from too much drinking, smoking and other nasty stuff.





Best wishes to your family.Which masks are best for preventing viruses? Pandemics?
It would probably depend on the type of thing your trying to keep out... I would suggest getting different kinds to protect yourself from everything