Uptake and effectiveness of facemask against respiratory infections at mass gatherings: a systematic review

Barasheed, Osamah; Alfelali, Mohammad; Mushta, Sami Mukhdari; Bokhary, Hamid; Alshehri, Jassir; Attar, Ammar A.; Booy, Robert; Rashid, Harunor

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2016.03.023

Cited by 78 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…The high rate of facemask use (almost 80%) observed among French Hajj pilgrims during the 2009 influenza pandemic year [50], compared to about 55% in a non-pandemic year [3], and in pilgrims from Southeast Asia (e.g., 73% among Malaysian pilgrims in 2007) seem to be due to cultural differences and heightened awareness during a pandemic [51]. The lower uptake of facemasks among participants in our cRCT is similar to the uptake among Saudi Arabian (35 to 57%) and Australian pilgrims (53 to 57%) observed in previous surveys [31,32,52,53], while uptake as low as 0.02% was also recorded among some international pilgrims [54]. Although 78% in the intervention group of our cRCT used facemasks, only a quarter used them regularly.…”

Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 80%

Facemask against viral respiratory infections among Hajj pilgrims: A challenging cluster-randomized trial

Alfelali

Haworth²,

Barasheed

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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Background In this large-scale cluster-randomized controlled trial (cRCT) we sought to assess the effectiveness of facemasks against viral respiratory infections. Methods and results Over three consecutive Hajj seasons (2013, 2014, 2015) pilgrims' tents in Makkah were allocated to 'facemask' or 'no facemask' group. Fifty facemasks were offered to participants in intervention tents, to be worn over four days, and none were offered to participants in control tents. All participants recorded facemask use and respiratory symptoms in health diaries. Nasal swabs were collected from the symptomatic for virus detection by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Clinical symptoms and laboratory results were analyzed by 'intention-to-treat' and 'per-protocol'. A total of 7687 adult participants from 318 tents were randomized: 3864 from 149 tents to the intervention group, and 3823 from 169 tents to the control group. Participants were aged 18 to 95 (median 34, mean 37) years, with a male to

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Section: Plos Onesupporting

confidence: 80%

Facemask against viral respiratory infections among Hajj pilgrims: A challenging cluster-randomized trial

Alfelali

Haworth²,

Barasheed

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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“…Previous studies have not explored if demographic factors were associated with an intention to use non-pharmacological protective measures before travel and their actual use during Hajj. Nonetheless, earlier studies did conclude that health education prior to departure was significantly associated with greater compliance with preventative practices, particularly the use of facemasks and hand sanitizers [19][20][21][22].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Tracking Australian Hajj Pilgrims’ Health Behavior before, during and after Hajj, and the Effective Use of Preventive Measures in Reducing Hajj-Related Illness: A Cohort Study

et al. 2020

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This study assessed Australian Hajj pilgrims' knowledge, attitude and practices throughout their Hajj journey to understand their health behaviors, use of preventative measures and development of illness symptoms. A prospective cohort study with data collection at three phases (before, during and after Hajj) was conducted among Australian pilgrims between August and December 2015. Baseline data were collected from 421 pilgrims before Hajj, with 391 providing follow-up data during Hajj and 300 after their home return. Most participants (78% [329/421]) received one or more recommended vaccines; travel agents' advice was the main factor affecting vaccination uptake. Most participants (69% [270/391]) practiced hand hygiene with soap and sanitizers frequently, followed by disposable handkerchief use (36% [139/391]) and washing hands with water only (28% [111/391]). During Hajj 74% (288/391) of participants reported one or more illness symptoms, 86% (248/288) of these symptoms were respiratory. Cough was less often reported among pilgrims who received vaccinations, cleaned their hands with soap or alcoholic hand rubs, while a runny nose was less common among those who frequently washed their hands with plain water but was more common among those who used facemasks. This study reveals that most Australian Hajj pilgrims complied with key preventative measures, and that tour group operators' advice played an important role in compliance. Pilgrims who were vaccinated and practiced hand hygiene were less likely to report infection symptoms.

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“…It has also been argued that it can help in reducing the number of times a person touches the face/mouth/nose with unwashed hands, which can significantly reduce the chance of infection. Previous studies have also demonstrated the effectiveness of face masks in protecting against respiratory infection during Hajj (Elachola et al, 2014;Barasheed et al, 2016).…”

Section: G R a P H I C A L Abstractmentioning

confidence: 95%

Covid-19 face masks: A potential source of microplastic fibers in the environment

Fadare

Okoffo

2020

Science of The Total Environment

729

588

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Uptake and effectiveness of facemask against respiratory infections at mass gatherings: a systematic review

Abstract: A modest proportion of attendees of MGs use facemask, the practice is more widespread among health care workers. Facemask use seems to be beneficial against certain respiratory infections at MGs but its effectiveness against specific infection remains unproven.

Cited by 78 publications

References 61 publications

Facemask against viral respiratory infections among Hajj pilgrims: A challenging cluster-randomized trial

Facemask against viral respiratory infections among Hajj pilgrims: A challenging cluster-randomized trial

Tracking Australian Hajj Pilgrims’ Health Behavior before, during and after Hajj, and the Effective Use of Preventive Measures in Reducing Hajj-Related Illness: A Cohort Study

Covid-19 face masks: A potential source of microplastic fibers in the environment

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