NOTE: This document is provided for historical purposes only.
HHS PRESS RELEASE
Date: June 23, 1997
NIOSH ALERT ON WORK-RELATED LATEX ALLERGY
RECOMMENDS STEPS TO REDUCE EXPOSURES
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
today recommended ways to protect workers from allergic reactions due to job-related exposures
to natural rubber latex in gloves and other products.
Latex allergy can result from repeated exposures to proteins in natural rubber latex through skin
contact or inhalation. Reports of work-related allergic reactions to latex have increased in recent
years, especially among employees in the growing health-care industry, where latex gloves are
widely used to prevent exposure to infectious agents.
At least 7.7 million people are employed in the health-care industry in the U.S. Once sensitized,
workers may go on to experience the effects of latex allergy. Studies indicate that 8 percent to 12
percent of health-care workers regularly exposed to latex are sensitized, compared with 1 percent
to 6 percent of the general population, although total numbers of exposed workers are not known.
Symptoms include skin rash and inflammation, respiratory irritation, asthma, and in rare cases
shock. In some instances, sensitized employees have experienced reactions so severe that they
impeded the worker's ability to continue working in their current job.
Wherever feasible, NIOSH recommends the selection of products and implementation of work
practices that reduce the risk of allergic reactions. Employee education about latex allergy and
monitoring of allergy symptoms also are recommended. The recommendations, which are
voluntary, are contained in a NIOSH Alert requesting the assistance of employers, workers, and
occupational health professionals in preventing work-related latex allergic reactions. Evolving
technology for manufacturing latex products and improvements in methods for measuring
exposures may lead to changes in the recommendations in the future, NIOSH noted.
"NIOSH's recommendations highlight practical ways to protect workers in many industries,
including the nation's dedicated health- care employees," said Health and Human Services
Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "These are clear, basic precautions to prevent exposures that can
impair workers' health, disrupt careers that represent years of training and hard work, and
burden employers in growing sectors of our economy."
"The NIOSH recommendations provide a sensible public-health blueprint that can be used for
determining appropriate safeguards in different work settings," said CDC Director David
Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.
The NIOSH Alert reminds health care workers and employers that appropriate protection is
necessary when handling infectious materials, as specified in CDC guidelines for preventing
exposure of health-care workers to the human immunodeficiency virus and the Hepatitis B virus.
If latex gloves are chosen as appropriate protection, they should be reduced-protein, powder-free
latex gloves, NIOSH suggests. Powder used as a lubricant in some gloves can increase exposure
to the allergy-causing proteins in natural latex through skin contact and inhalation.
The Alert also says that:
Non-latex gloves are recommended for tasks (such as food preparation, routine housekeeping,
and maintenance) that are not likely to involve contacts with infectious materials such as blood.
Workers at high risk of allergic reaction should be screened periodically to detect symptoms
early and control or eliminate latex exposure.
Appropriate work practices should be followed. For example, workers should wash their
hands with a mild soap and dry thoroughly after removing latex gloves. Areas contaminated
with latex-containing dust should be identified and cleaned, and ventilation filters and vacuum
bags used in those areas should be changed frequently.
Workers should be provided with education programs and training materials about latex
allergy.
Workers showing symptoms of latex allergy should consult a doctor experienced in treating
the problem, and workers with a known allergy should avoid latex exposures, wear a medical
alert bracelet, and follow their doctor's advice for dealing with allergic reactions.
"NIOSH has worked closely with our partners in business, labor, and the health community in
developing these recommendations and will continue to work with them closely to disseminate
the recommendations widely in the many workplaces affected by latex allergies," said NIOSH
Director Linda Rosenstock, M.D., M.P.H.
In the health care industry, workers at risk of latex allergy from ongoing latex exposures include
physicians, nurses, aides, dentists, dental hygienists, operating room employees, laboratory
technicians, and housekeeping personnel. Workers who use latex gloves less frequently, such as
law enforcement personnel, ambulance attendants, fire fighters, food service employees, painters,
gardeners, housekeeping personnel outside the health care industry, and funeral home employees,
also may develop latex allergy. Workers in factories where natural rubber latex products are
manufactured or used also may be affected.
The amount of exposure needed to sensitize individuals to natural rubber latex is not known, but
reductions in exposure to latex proteins have been reported to be associated with decreased
sensitization and symptoms. People at increased risk for developing latex allergy include workers
with ongoing latex exposure, persons with a tendency to have multiple allergic conditions, and
persons with spina bifida. Latex allergy also is associated with allergies to certain foods such as
avocados, potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, chestnuts, kiwi fruit, and papaya.
NIOSH was created under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and became part of
CDC in 1973. CDC, the nation's prevention agency, is responsible for translating scientific
research into effective public health programs. NIOSH is the only federal institute mandated to
conduct research and train professionals in workplace safety and health.
Copies of NIOSH Alert: Preventing Allergic Reactions to Latex in the Workplace,
Publication No. DHHS (NIOSH) 97-135,
are available by calling the NIOSH toll-free information number,
Further information about NIOSH research is available
from the toll-free information number and on the NIOSH home page on the World-Wide Web,
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ homepage.html.
(1-800-356-4674)
