T-shirt mask could help in flu pandemic: experts

T-shirt mask could help in flu pandemic: experts

The world may be unprepared for a bird flu pandemic, but U.S. researchers said on Wednesday they had come up with one low-tech answer to widespread shortages of medical equipment -- a mask made out of a T-shirt.

Their mask fit comfortably over the face and appeared to filter out potentially infectious particles, the team at the University of Pittsburgh said.

"A simple, locally made, washable mask may be a solution if commercial masks are not available," Virginia Dato, David Hostler and Michael Hahn wrote in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

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This seems hard to believe... I wonder if only certain brands (thread type and count) were used....

Of course, the article also points out the ideas shortcomings....

Interesting, nonetheless.

I have the feeling my husband is going to be missing some T-shirts

We should check into this one. I could start a homebusiness

I do not know if I buy this. I have used T-shirt masks at various protests/riots to avoid tear gas and pepper spray, and they did work to some extent. In the "fog" of the fray they seem to work for only a half an hour or so, and that is only if you are not being hit dead on. If t-shirts can't filter out larger particulates like pepper spray and tear gas, how can they filter out viruses?