BOOM

Trending Searches

    SUPPORT
    BOOM

    Trending News

      • Fact Check 
        • Fast Check
        • Politics
        • Business
        • Entertainment
        • Social
        • Sports
        • World
      • Law
      • Explainers
      • News 
        • All News
      • Decode 
        • Impact
        • Scamcheck
        • Life
        • Voices
      • Media Buddhi 
        • Digital Buddhi
        • Senior Citizens
        • Videos
      • Web Stories
      • BOOM Research
      • BOOM Labs
      • Deepfake Tracker
      • Videos 
        • Facts Neeti
      • Home-icon
        Home
      • About Us-icon
        About Us
      • Authors-icon
        Authors
      • Team-icon
        Team
      • Careers-icon
        Careers
      • Internship-icon
        Internship
      • Contact Us-icon
        Contact Us
      • Methodology-icon
        Methodology
      • Correction Policy-icon
        Correction Policy
      • Non-Partnership Policy-icon
        Non-Partnership Policy
      • Cookie Policy-icon
        Cookie Policy
      • Grievance Redressal-icon
        Grievance Redressal
      • Republishing Guidelines-icon
        Republishing Guidelines
      • Fact Check-icon
        Fact Check
        Fast Check
        Politics
        Business
        Entertainment
        Social
        Sports
        World
      • Law-icon
        Law
      • Explainers-icon
        Explainers
      • News-icon
        News
        All News
      • Decode-icon
        Decode
        Impact
        Scamcheck
        Life
        Voices
      • Media Buddhi-icon
        Media Buddhi
        Digital Buddhi
        Senior Citizens
        Videos
      • Web Stories-icon
        Web Stories
      • BOOM Research-icon
        BOOM Research
      • BOOM Labs-icon
        BOOM Labs
      • Deepfake Tracker-icon
        Deepfake Tracker
      • Videos-icon
        Videos
        Facts Neeti
      Trending Tags
      TRENDING
      • #Operation Sindoor
      • #Pahalgam Terror Attack
      • #Narendra Modi
      • #Rahul Gandhi
      • #Waqf Amendment Bill
      • #Arvind Kejriwal
      • #Deepfake
      • #Artificial Intelligence
      • Home
      • World
      • Bacterial Pneumonia Is Not Caused...
      World

      Bacterial Pneumonia Is Not Caused By Wearing Face Masks

      The 2008 study referred to in the tweet, and which Fauci co-authored made no link to mask-wearing.

      By - AFP |
      Published -  23 Oct 2020 9:22 PM IST
    • Boomlive
      Bacterial Pneumonia Is Not Caused By Wearing Face Masks
      A claim posted on Twitter says that most deaths in the 1918 influenza pandemic originated from bacterial pneumonia caused by face masks and that Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government's top expert in the fight against COVID-19, knew about it. This is false; the 2008 study referred to in the tweet, and which Fauci co-authored, aimed to help plan for future pandemics and made no link to mask-wearing.


      "The unmasked buried the masked in the 'Spanish Flu.' What did people in #masks die from?

      Bacterial pneumonia. Who knew this and wrote about it in 2008? Dr. Anthony Fauci," says the tweet from a woman who identifies herself as a "naturopathic medical doctor.

      She quotes a previous tweet from herself citing as evidence the 2008 study co-authored by Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a member of the White House coronavirus task force.


      A screenshot of the tweet taken on October 20, 2020

      Also Read: Donald Trump Campaign Ad Uses Anthony Fauci's Comment Without Context

      The initial claim, shared more than a thousand times on Twitter, also appeared as a screenshot on Facebook including here, here, here, and on Instagram here. Some posts called on people to stop wearing masks.

      The author of the tweet, Colleen Huber, has published her false claims about masks in two non peer-reviewed blog posts -- here and here -- on primarydoctor.org, a website that also hosts other spurious claims about the novel coronavirus including "Is there a pandemic? -- later retracted by its author.

      Huber cited here on page six the study from NIAID -that found severe changes indicative of bacterial pneumonia in postmortem samples from 1918 influenza patients. "It is also known that the 1918-1919 pandemic was the last time that human societies experimented with widespread long-term masking," she claims.

      But NIAID told AFP in a statement: "The 2008 study does not mention masks and had nothing to do with masks" Instead, the study "analyzed data from fatal 1918 infections and showed that the majority of cases were associated with secondary bacterial pneumonias," NIAID added.

      The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe global pandemic in recent history. Around one-third of the world's population became infected with the virus and at least 50 million people died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

      In 1918, antibiotics were not available. The availability of antibiotics during later influenza pandemics of the 20th century was probably a key factor in the lower number of worldwide deaths during those outbreaks, noted Dr. David Morens, co-author of the study, in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) news release.

      The study was conducted to better prepare for future pandemics, concluding that prevention and other measures against secondary bacterial pneumonia, along with antibiotic and bacterial vaccine stockpiling, should be high priorities.

      "This association of secondary bacterial pneumonias has long been associated with severe influenza in human and animal studies. There are several published references to this," NIAID told AFP.

      Scientific papers from other authors confirm this, here, here and here. None of these studies mentions the regular use of masks as an increasing factor or a direct cause of secondary bacterial pneumonia. They note that respiratory infections are a serious medical concern in viral outbreaks.

      Dr Taison Bell, critical care and infectious disease physician at the University of Virginia, added that "there is no reputable study that has connected mask use with an increase in bacterial pneumonia."

      Also Read: Did WHO Say Bill Gates Is Adding Sterilisation Formula In Vaccines?

      He noted that good hygiene, hand washing and social distancing are all recommended by physicians to complement the use of face masks.

      "In every single influenza season, we actually expect a certain proportion of our patients to develop bacterial pneumonia. It's a well-known established complication that you start learning about in medical school," he said in a phone interview.

      AFP Fact Check has addressed other false and misleading claims about face masks including here, here and here.

      The United States has seen around 300,000 more deaths than usual since late January, with two-thirds attributable to Covid-19, a government study issued in October found.

      The US coronavirus death toll is currently around 220,000, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

      AFP Fact Check has debunked more than 650 false and misleading claims about the novel coronavirus.

      (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by BOOM staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

      Tags

      Anthony FauciBacterial PneumoniaCOVID-19Coronavirus PandemicCoronavirus OutbreakCoronavirus CureCoronavirus VaccineFace MasksMaskMasks
      Read Full Article
      Claim :   The 1918 influenza pandemic originated from bacterial pneumonia caused by face masks and Dr Anthony Fauci knew about it.
      Claimed By :  Social media posts
      Fact Check :  False
      Next Story
      Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
      Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker. Please reload after ad blocker is disabled.
      X

      Subscribe to BOOM Newsletters

      👉 No spam, no paywall — but verified insights.

      Please enter a Email Address
      Subscribe for free!

      Stay Ahead of Misinformation!

      Please enter a Email Address
      Subscribe Now🛡️ 100% Privacy Protected | No Spam, Just Facts
      By subscribing, you agree with the Terms & conditions and Privacy Policy connected to the offer

      Thank you for subscribing!

      You’re now part of the BOOM community.

      Or, Subscribe to receive latest news via email
      Subscribed Successfully...
      Copy HTMLHTML is copied!
      There's no data to copy!