When you are in close contact with a contagious TB patient, none of these steps will completely protect you, and respirators are needed. A respirator is a protective facepiece, hood or helmet that is designed to protect the wearer against a variety of harmful airborne agents. Only certain types of respirators will protect you from TB, as explained later. Your hospital or organization's infection control committee determines under what circumstances respirators must be worn and which employees are required to wear them. Recent research has shown that many surgical masks do not do a good job of removing all TB bacteria.
Some surgical masks fit so poorly that they provide very little protection from any airborne hazard.
A surgical mask is not a respirator.