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How best to protect healthcare workers against influenza remains unresolved. During the 2008–2009 winter influenza season, investigators compared surgical masks with fit-tested N95 respirators in a randomized trial involving eight Ontario, Canada, tertiary care hospitals.
Participants were 446 nurses who provided care to patients with febrile respiratory illness while working in emergency departments or inpatient medical or pediatric units. Follow-up (including twice-weekly assessment for signs and symptoms of influenza, and laboratory testing of nasal specimens from participants with influenza-like illness) lasted from January 12 through April 23, 2009. Influenza-vaccination status was comparable between the nurses using surgical masks and …