Can you catch legionnaire's disease from wearing an old/dirty/unwashed mask?
A friend of mine keeps using the blue masks all the time, They're dirty and sweaty and it's gross but I am concerned if he'll catch legionnaire's disease ?
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Answers ( 1 )
The blue masks are meant as disposable masks, not to be reused, and certainly not to be used once they become dirty and sweaty. Any pathogen can be deposited on those masks, virus or bacteria, and re-using them can cause a transfer of infectious pathogen. The purpose of disposability is to avoid exposure to contamination.
Legionnaire's disease is a bacterial pathogen, but it is not spread human-to-human. The bacteria Legionella is transmitted through water, and may be breathed in by water droplets. The bacteria itself will not survive on dry surfaces, only on wet surfaces and in water. The bacteria may remain from exposure to a dirty mask if it's wet, but if the mask is dry then the bacteria won't survive. Generally masks are not used for protection from Legionnaire's Disease because it is not spread person-to-person. So, they're safe from Legionnaire's Disease with the mask, unless it's moist or wet.
But, other pathogens may be present on that mask, COVID-19 being one of them, and a cold or flu virus would contaminate the mask. They're just not using the mask in the manner it is intended, and the mask should be discarded and replaced with a new mask - every day of use at least.
references:
https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/about/causes-transmission.html
https://legionella.org/faqs/general-public/transmission-of-disease/