Who Should Wear a Mask to Prevent Diseases?

Mask use for preventing airborne diseases is usually reserved for healthcare personnel, however, some people may want to consider wearing a surgical mask if they believe they could be exposed to bird flu or tuberculosis.

Who Should Wear a Surgical Mask to Prevent Tuberculosis

Lately a new strain of tuberculosis, that is extremely difficult to treat has emerged called Extensively Resistant Tuberculosis, or XDR TB. You may want to wear a mask to prevent any kind of tuberculosis if:

• You are a health care worker
• You work in a laboratory studying tuberculosis
• You are a close friend, family member or caregiver of someone who has tuberculosis
• You have tuberculosis and want to prevent others from getting infected

Who Should Wear a Mask to Prevent Bird Flu

At this moment, highly pathogenic avian influenza is not present in birds or humans in the US. If an H5N1 avian flu outbreak is detected, a mask should be worn by those who participate in bird flu risk activities. Most people catch bird flu from close contact with birds.

Wear a mask if you:

• Work closely with people suspected of or infected with H5N1 bird flu.
• Work closely with wild birds or poultry in areas where bird flu outbreaks have been detected.
• Sacrifice, butcher, pluck feathers, bury or cook animals suspected of having bird flu.

If H5N1 bird flu becomes highly transmissible in humans and becomes pandemic flu, the following people should wear a mask if he or she can not avoid high bird flu risk activities:

• Anyone working closely with the public and anyone who must be around many people, such as on public transportation. Examples include drivers of public transportation, and police officers and other essential public service personnel.
• Healthcare workers.
• People involved in sacrificing infected animals.
• People involved with burying victims of pandemic flu.
• Workers in poultry operations, either in direct contact with birds or surfaces birds have contaminated, such as trucks and cages.
• Family members, friends and clergy of victims.
• Scientists and laboratory workers working with the virus.