A boy tries wearing a Vinatex Como brand face mask at a pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City

The ability of a mask made of special fabric to kill viruses including that of swine and avian flu has not verified, local health experts say.

A senior staff member at the HCMC Pasteur Institute said although they have agreed to conduct a test for Como it was related to bacteria.

Regarding the fabric’s purported ability to kill viruses, the doctor, who wished to stay unnamed said they could not do such tests as the company couldn’t provide them with the information about which chemical substances are in the fabric.

According to Como Director Nguyen Huu Phuc, the fabrics are cotton absorbed into a Shikibo-discovered organic compound with the ability to detect and kill viruses as well as bacteria, and polyester which acts to trap any virus and bacteria nearby.

Phu Nhuan District-based Como, which has recently sold the masks to some local hospitals and adjacent provinces, also failed to give the institute details about standards for such tests in Japan, according to the doctor.

He also noted that the certificates granted to the product as the company claims on its website and in advertisements, were in fact signed by laboratories in Japan and Indonesia, not the countries’ state health management agencies.

Tran Ngoc Huu, director general of HCMC Pasteur Institute, meanwhile, criticized the company for using the institute’s test results for advertising, as they don’t allow any customer to do so.

According Como’s Flutect mask advertisement, the product has been certified to be bacteria-resistant by HCMC Pasteur Institute, and as both virus and bacteria resistant by Japan’s National Institute of Hygiene and Indonesia’s Airlanga University.

“After 100 washings its anti-bacteria and anti-virus properties are still active and can endure the washing temperatures of 85^oC,” the ad says.

Source: Tuoi Tre