Latex Glove Allergy in Microelectronics Manufacturing” (see page 9) reports on a recent study conducted at Motorola for determining the incidence of allergic reactions among workers wearing natural rubber latex (NRL) gloves. The study concluded that the use of powder-free NRL gloves resulted in a relatively insignificant number of allergic reactions (0.2%). Given the widely held belief linking NRL to dermatologic and systemic allergies, this is an important development.

Why the concern? Some people get dermatitis from petting dogs and or cats or from walking in the woods. But wearing NRL gloves daily can be hazardous to one’s health. One allergic reaction to NRL, termed Type I immunoglobulin (IgE)-mediated, can induce potentially fatal anaphylactic shock. USDA’s Katrina Cornish, Ph.D., lead scientist at the Agricultural Research Service, long involved in latex research, comments that as early as 1994, a report showed that the incidence of IgE antibodies to latex protein in the general population of the United States (excluding health care workers) had risen to 6.7%. If a conservative 10% of the health care workers had been added, she notes, the total would have been 20 million. Unfortunately, she reports, few epidemiological studies have been conducted since publication of that work.

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Although Yulex, a private company, is about to enter the guayule latex business using a patented procedure developed by Dr. Cornish, completion of its manufacturing facility is still months away.

Protect those already sensitized by eliminating powdered NRL gloves from the workplace and using non-Hevea latex materials (synthetic or guayule latex products) for any procedures that would cause contact between the glove and body fluids, mucosal membranes, or damaged skin.

The history is clear, Dr. Cornish explains. Powdered latex gloves were used for decades—some 60 to 70 years—with virtually no incidence of Type I latex allergies. With the rise of AIDS, however, glove use increased dramatically, demand outstripped the supply, and a plethora of new glove manufacturers—many of whom opted not to leach the gloves to remove the soluble proteins—sprang up. The high protein load in these products appears to be the cause of the Type I latex allergy.

Even now, a Type I-sensitive individual who dons a leached latex glove may experience a reaction, even though most of the proteins have been removed. Dr. Cornish notes, “Peoples’ immune systems are more sensitive than the protein assays being used.” Of approximately 240 latex proteins and peptides, at least 57 have been shown to be human allergens.

Solutions on the horizon include the use of synthetic glove material—more expensive than NRL, but lacking many of its desirable characteristics—or guayule (“why-YOU-lee”), a new latex that contains only 2% as much protein as Hevea latex, the material now in common use. Guayule (Parthenium argentatum, [Gray], Asteraceae) is a shrub native to the Chihuahuan desert of Mexico and Texas.

With litigation on the rise and ever-increasing concern for employee health, the NRL issue is a matter of urgent concern. According to Dr. Cornish, industry must:

* Protect those not yet latex-sensitive by thoroughly washing the latex product before gloves are manufactured;