What type of respiratory protection is recommended for workers cleaning suspected rodent areas for HPS?

• A. Surgical mask
• B. No respirator required
• C. Half-face air-purifying respirator or PAPR equipped with N-100 filters
• D. Full-face respirator with P100 filters

Answer: (C)

When cleaning suspected rodent areas for HPS, the inhalation of virus-laden aerosols is the main risk, so the protection must provide very high-efficiency particulate filtration and a reliable facial seal. A surgical mask or no respirator won’t stop those aerosols, so they’re not adequate for this task.

The recommended protection is a half-face air-purifying respirator or a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) equipped with N-100 filters. N-100 filters provide about 99.97% filtration of airborne particles, which is necessary to reduce the risk from hantavirus in dust brought up during cleanup. A half-face respirator is practical for field cleanup, and a PAPR offers additional comfort and can include eye protection if used with a hood. This combination targets the high-efficiency filtration needed for hantavirus aerosols, aligning with best practices for minimizing inhalation exposure.

Full-face respirators with P100 filters would also be protective, but the key point emphasized here is using a high-efficiency particulate filter (N-100 or equivalent) in a respirator appropriate for the task, which is captured by the described half-face or PAPR setup.