Latex Allergy

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In 1987, there was a movement throughout the world to take precautions that would prevent the spread of infectious diseases, especially the AIDS virus. This effort resulted in the application of universal precautions for protecting a person from infectious material using protective barriers. One such barrier was the latex glove. It is estimated that since 1987, the annual United States usage of latex gloves has been 10 billion. This increase in the use of latex has resulted in a dramatic rise in allergy to latex. Health care workers are at particular risk for latex allergy and it is estimated that this allergy affects 2% of all hospital employees. Latex is used in over 40,000 products.