Survival of Bacteriophage MS2 on Filtering Facepiece Respirator Coupons

The reuse of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) after decontamination has been suggested as a strategy to conserve supplies during an influenza pandemic. The feasibility of decontaminating FFRs has been investigated under laboratory conditions; however, the need for decontamination of FFRs is not well characterized. In this study the potential for FFRs to act as fomites was examined using bacteriophage MS2. Virus was applied to FFR coupons as an aerosol or liquid drops and stored at 22°C and 30% relative humidity. Viability of the virus was monitored every 24 hours from 1 to 5 days with a final sampling occurring on day 10. At least 10% of the initial MS2 load was able to survive for 4 days on the FFR coupons regardless of the deposition method. All coupons contained detectable levels of MS2 on the tenth day. MS2 viability did not appear to be affected by the location of deposition within the layers of the coupon under the test conditions. The results indicate that FFRs have the potential to serve as a fomite.