Microbial contamination of two non-sterile latex examination glove brands marketed in Trujillo, Peru: a laboratory study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64716/htmpv670Palabras clave:
Gloves, Protective, Equipment Contamination, Cross Infection, Bacteria, DentistryResumen
Introduction: Non-sterile latex examination gloves are routinely used as barrier protection in dental practice; however, microbial contamination may be present before clinical use and potentially compromise infection-control procedures. Objective: To compare the microbial contamination of two brands of non-sterile latex examination gloves marketed in Trujillo, Peru. Methods: A comparative laboratory study was conducted using 132 unused latex examination gloves, including 66 Endoglove and 66 BeeSure specimens. Gloves were aseptically removed from their original boxes and processed individually using a microbiological rinse procedure followed by incubation and culture. Microbial growth was quantified as colony-forming units (CFU), and recovered microorganisms were classified according to the laboratory identification. Results: Endoglove specimens yielded 95 CFU and BeeSure specimens 80 CFU. Overall, Klebsiella was the most frequently recovered bacterium (47 CFU; 26.86%), followed by Salmonella (38 CFU; 21.71%), enterococci (25 CFU; 14.29%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (21 CFU; 12.00%), yeasts (17 CFU; 9.71%), Staphylococcus aureus (14 CFU; 8.00%), and Staphylococcus saprophyticus (13 CFU; 7.43%). Conclusions: Microbial contamination was detected in unused non-sterile latex examination gloves from both brands, with a higher total CFU count in Endoglove than in BeeSure. Bacterial species predominated among the recovered microorganisms, particularly Klebsiella and Salmonella.
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The dataset is available upon request. The aggregated data supporting the findings of this study are presented in full in the manuscript and its accompanying tables.
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Derechos de autor 2026 Manuel Ángel García-Polo (Autor/a)
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución 4.0.
Authors retain the copyright of their work and grant TUMI Oral Health the right of first publication. Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
