id	author	title	date	pages	extension	mime	words	sentences	flesch	summary	cache	txt
cord-255901-nl9k8uwd	Barasheed, Osamah	Uptake and effectiveness of facemask against respiratory infections at mass gatherings: a systematic review	2016-03-29		.txt	text/plain	4522	256	50	Studies conducted in community or health care settings found facemasks to be generally effective against influenza-like illness (ILI) or even against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) but its effectiveness against respiratory infections at MGs remains unknown. 15, 17 A review of non-pharmaceutical interventions against respiratory tract infections among Hajj pilgrims presented data on the uptake of facemask and acknowledged that compliance was generally poor, but did not evaluate its effectiveness during Hajj. A few studies showed that providing educational session on protective measures against respiratory infections (including facemask) before Hajj was associated with significantly higher uptake of facemasks among pilgrims. 68 Focused studies are required to investigate factors influencing facemask compliance among attendees of Hajj and other MGs. In this systematic review, pooled data of facemask effectiveness showed that participants who used facemask during Hajj are about 20% less likely to suffer from respiratory infections compared to those who do not use it.	./cache/cord-255901-nl9k8uwd.txt	./txt/cord-255901-nl9k8uwd.txt