Concentrations of Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02 allergens in gloves used in the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) in South Africa

Introduction
Gloves made of Natural Rubber Latex (NRL) are commonly used by health care workers because of their good qualities; however allergic reactions to these gloves have been widely reported. It has been suggested that Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02 allergens are commonly associated with allergic reactions in health care workers. The aim of the study was to measure the content of Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02 allergens of gloves commonly used in the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) in South Africa.

Methods
NRL gloves that were currently used in the NHLS were obtained from the different glove suppliers. Gloves labelled as non-latex containing were also ordered and tested as controls. Proteins were extracted from the gloves and the Fitkit assay was used to quantify Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02 allergens

Results
Nineteen (19) NRL glove samples were analysed in this study. The samples consisted of 12 examination, 6 surgical and one house hold glove. Among these 13 were none powdered and 6 powdered gloves. Only 3 of the 19 NRL gloves analyzed had the sum of Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02 levels below 0.05µg/g, which has been suggested as the threshold limit for low allergenicity for the sum of 2 allergens by Palosuo in 2008. The sum of Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02 allergens were less than 0.05ug/g in all non latex gloves tested. 

Discussion
A minority of gloves tested (16%) had the sum of Hev b 5 and Hev b 6.02 below the suggested threshold for low allergenicity. Identification of latex gloves with low concentrations of allergens can aid in reducing the risk of sensitization to NRL and the development of allergic disease.