title: Bacterial contamination of unused, disposable non-sterile gloves on a hospital orthopaedic ward.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Non-sterile disposable gloves are used on large hospital wards, however their potential role as a vehicle for pathogen transmission has not been explored in this setting.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study investigates glove use on a hospital orthopaedic ward to examine whether pathogen contamination occurs prior to contact with patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Glove samples were aseptically removed from boxes on a hospital orthopaedic ward on opening and days 3, 6 and 9 thereafter. Following elution of bacteria and viable counts, glove isolates were identified by standard techniques and 16s rDNA sequencing. Methicillin resistance of staphylococci was determined by disc diffusion, Epsilon tests and PCR. Gloves were inoculated to determine two isolate survival rates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total bacterial counts ranged from 0 to 9.6 x 10(3) cfu/glove. Environmental bacteria, particularly Bacillus species, were present on 31/38 (81.6%) of samples. Half (19/38) the samples were contaminated with skin commensals; coagulase negative staphylococci were predominant. Enterococcus faecalis , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Pseudomonas sp. or methicillin susceptible Staphylococcus aureus were recovered from 5/38 (13.2%) of samples. Significantly more skin commensals and pathogens were recovered from samples from days 3, 6, 9 than box-opening samples. Staphylococcus epidermidis and Klebsiella pneumoniae inoculated onto gloves remained viable for several days but counts decreased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health care workers introduced skin commensals and pathogenic bacteria into glove boxes indicating that unused, non-sterile gloves are potential pathogen transmission vehicles in hospitals. Findings highlight adherence to handwashing guidelines, common glove retrieval practice, and glove-box design as targets for decreasing bacteria transmission via gloves on hospital wards.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago.
authors.forename: Kim A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cornwall
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Theis
authors.forename: Heather J L
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Brooks
keywords: Bacteria; contamination; disposable gloves; hospital; methicillin resistance; nosocomial infection; nosocomial pathogens