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Does wearing a mask while traveling ward off illness? Here's what experts say

What started off as a viral infection only in China is now spreading.
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   PHOTO: Travelers wear face masks at Beijing West Railway Station in
   Beijing, Jan. 24, 2020.
   Image Icon AFP via Getty Images
   Travelers wear face masks at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing,
   Jan. 24, 2020.

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   With the recent outbreak, images from across the world show people
   wearing masks to ward off illness when traveling. However, wearing a
   mask is not a practice the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
   recommends for preventing infection in healthy travelers.

   There is little benefit to wearing a surgical type mask, and may even
   put you at greater risk for spreading infection, infectious disease
   doctors told ABC News.

   "There isn’t a lot of data to support if there is any benefit to
   wearing a mask in the public setting. It is currently unclear," advised
   Dr. Jonathan Grein, a board-certified infectious disease physician and
   director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los
   Angeles. He says masks are used by doctors and nurses when dealing
   directly with sick people. "We use them in the health care setting for
   two main reasons: to contain secretions of individuals who have
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   direct care to patients."

   If a patient starts to develop symptoms, a surgical mask has been shown
   to limit spreading germs, which is not only polite but could help limit
   a dangerous outbreak.

   "Many respiratory viruses are spread by large respiratory droplets
   which are filtered by surgical masks," said Dr. Henry Wu, assistant
   professor of infectious disease at the Emory University School of
   Medicine and former medical epidemiologist at the CDC. "If someone has
   a cold or the flu or another viral respiratory infection, wearing a
   simple mask will decrease the risk of that person spreading infection."

   Health care professionals and those in direct contact with the sick are
   advised to wear N95 medical respirator masks. These masks are rated for
   higher protection.

   "Industrial masks [for example, ones worn for construction] or other
   occupational respirators are not designed for healthcare use or
   infection control. Medical N95 respirators are only recommended for
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   William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious
   disease at Vanderbilt School of Medicine and medical director of
   National Foundation of Medical Diseases. "Painter’s masks are very
   flimsy and aren’t any good for preventing someone from respiratory
   infection. The CDC is very skeptical for these reasons."
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   sick during cold and flu season or during an outbreak like the
   coronavirus?
   PHOTO: Travelers wear face masks at Beijing West Railway Station in
   Beijing, Jan. 24, 2020.
   AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images
   Travelers wear face masks at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing,
   Jan. 24, 2020.

   "Masks are not recommended for general protection if you are not ill,"
   said Wu.

   There may even be a risk to wearing a mask preventively.

   "The mask itself can become contaminated and serve as a source of
   infection actually doing more harm than good," said Grein. "If wearing
   a mask, I caution touching it."

   Instead, he advises, "avoid travel if you are ill, sneeze or cough into