Scientists Take On 'Year Of The Glove'

For scientists and health care professionals working with blood and tissue products, 1988 may well go down in history as the “Year of the Glove,” as the demand for rubber gloves soars. “We’ve seen a doubling of demand since the last quarter of 1987,” says Les Jacobson, of Baxter International Inc., a large medical glove manufacturer based in Chicago, Ill. “Glove manufacturers are switching their product mix— robbing Peter to pay Paul—to ease the shortage.” Ansell Inc., another major glove maker, based in Dothan, Ala., increased its glove production to 2.5 billion this year—twice last year’s output. Many glove makers have added extra shifts, or slowed down on other product lines in order to increase glove production. And in rubber-producing regions in the Far East, a few startup companies are now cashing in on U.S. demand. The rush to glove-up started last year after the Centers for Disease Control published a report of three health care workers who accidentally became infected with the AIDS virus—from exposure to blood—on the job. As part of its universal precautions to prevent HIV transmission, the CDC recommends glove use for any researcher or health care worker who regularly comes in contact with blood or bodily fluids. “Most in demand are latex examination gloves—the Chevrolet of gloves. There’s less of a shortage of surgeon’s gloves because surgeons have always gloved up in the past,” says Jacobson. “It’s AIDS hysteria,” says Frank Berlin of Armin Polyversion Inc., a Jersey City, N.J., glove manufacturer. The company makes its exam gloves from a synthetic co-polymer material, which trades off the protection of latex rubber for greater tactility Because of the shortage of rubber gloves, Berlin’s business has increased by “400% to 500%” in the past year, particularly in the dental area. In fact, dental hygienists, technicians, school nurses, and other ancillary health workers who didn’t wear gloves in the past are now gloving-up, all contributing to the shortage. While the threat of exposure to AIDS warrants use of gloves and other protective clothing, the same people who are just starting to worry have long been at risk for other infections. Hepatitis B virus, for example, poses a much more significant risk to scientists and health care workers than AIDS, according to Stanley Bauer, director of pathology at New York City’s Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center. “HBV is very rugged,” said Bauer in his talk on guidelines for protection of laboratory workers at last month’s American Chemical Society meeting in Toronto. A laboratory worker has a 6% to 30% chance per needlestick of becoming infected with HBV, while the risk is only 0.04% to 0.09% per needlestick of HIV-infected blood, Bauer says. In Bauer’s lab, people performing autopsies are using the new stainless steel mesh gloves, sometimes wearing latex gloves over the chain for extra protection. Bauer believes double gloves are worth it when “gross contamination is certain.” The FDA and CDC intend to issue a report on glove quality and the effectiveness of gloves as barriers before the year is out. In the meantime, when the glove shortage forces scientists to buy unfamiliar brands of gloves, the best way to choose is to make sure the manufacturer conforms to American Society of Testing Materials standards. The ASTM has published acceptable quality levels on standard specifications for both rubber surgical gloves and rubber examination gloves. The society reapproved its guidelines earlier this year, but like FDA standards, ASTM standards are voluntary— manufacturers are not required to follow them. Aubin Tyler is a science writer based in Hoboken, N.J.

Scientists Take On 'Year Of The Glove'

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