Project:

What's lurking on my mask? Identifying bacteria on facial masks during COVID pandemic

Students:

Sarah Chan, Sophia Leng

Institution:

Queensborough CC, CUNY, Queens

Mentors:

Mangala Tawde

Abstract:

Wearing facial masks remains the most critical protection measure during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is important to ensure the masks being worn are clean, as knowledge about the many microbes that could be residing on them remains limited. Our research aims to expand this knowledge by investigating the types of bacteria found on facial masks. Our objective was to identify these bacteria and then categorize them based on their prevalence and any putative significance to public health. DNA barcoding and gene sequence analysis were carried out to identify the bacteria. We found several species of bacteria on the face masks: while some were bacteria that are normally found on human skin, some of them were novel and uncommon species, both potentially pathogenic.

Poster:

Team samples: