Latex allergy is a concern from an occupational safety aspect because it affects compliance of glove usage, which directly influences infection control practices aimed at providing safe medical care for both the health care worker (HCW) and patient.

The Dr George Mukhari Hospital (DGM) in Pretoria has a staff complement of 1500 doctors and nurses who use latex gloves occasionally or regularly. The objective for this study was to evaluate the current prevalence of latex allergies and staff awareness of latex glove allergies as well as the availability of alternatives.

Laboratory records were reviewed and a crude prevalence was calculated at