Bacterial contamination of nonsterile disposable gloves before use.

BACKGROUND After Bacillus cereus recovery in opened boxes of disposable gloves, the bacteriological contamination of disposable nonsterile gloves kept stored in native packages was investigated prospectively. METHODS Thirty-six commercially available nonsterile nonpowdered disposable gloves made of latex, vinyl, or nitrile were cultured. RESULTS A large variety of spore-forming and non-spore-forming bacteria was recovered, including Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens. CONCLUSION This finding must be taken into consideration for care involving gloves in very immunocompromised patients.