WASHINGTON, Feb 17: Counterfeit N95 face mask is flooding US hospitals, it has come to light. The fake looks so real that it is difficult to recognise which is original. "They have fooled everybody," Cassie Sauer, president and CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association was quoted in reports. The fakes have been detected at least in six States.

A large number of the 1.9 million masks sent to 40 hospitals in Washington State have been found to be counterfeit, posing serious threat to the life of health workers. Following an alert from the Department of Homeland Security, some of the masks labelled 3M were sent to 3M for testing. 3M is a leading US mask manufacturer.

Another lot of 10,000 masks sent to a Minnesota hospital came under suspicion when a nurse complained they did not have a proper fit, which is a must. Even the Cleveland Clinic has admitted to having the fake 3Ms. Jersey Shore University Medical Center is another victim.

Fraudsters stand in as there has always been a shortage of N95s medical staff in hospitals have to use. They interpolate consignments at the distributors' level. Distributors are duped into supplying the fake. 3M or any other known brand is counterfeited.

Homeland Security has found these are coming from China.

Manufacturers ask customers to look for identification codes, which is practically not possible nor successful with knockoffs passing off with near-identical marks. Authenticating every single mask is not always possible.