ABSTRACT
Concerns and research about the quality of medical gloves originally arose from the possibility of transmission of a deadly disease: acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Because of the AIDS epidemic, research studies on barrier protection for the health-care worker have continued, focused on barrier effectiveness to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the suspected etiological agent of AIDS. These studies have also provided data relevant to the possible transmission of other viral diseases, such as hepatitis B (HBV) and herpes simplex (HSV).
