Respirator testing using virus aerosol: Comparison between viability penetration and physical penetration

Viability, fluorescence (particle volume), photometric, viral RNA, and particle number penetration of MS2 bacteriophage through filter media used in three different models of respirators were compared to better understand the correlation between viability and physical penetration. Although viability and viral RNA penetration were better represented by particle volume penetration than particle number penetration, they were several-fold lower than photometric penetration, which was partially due to the difference in virus survival between upstream and downstream aerosol samples. Results suggest that the current NIOSH photometer-based test method can be used as a quick means to roughly differentiate respirators with different performance against virus aerosols.