Gloves cannot replace hand hygiene: WHO

Time of India

06-05-2025

New Delhi: Medical gloves cannot replace hand hygiene, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday, as it pushed govts to promote infection-control in hospital settings.
According to the UN health body, while medical gloves serve a vital role in preventing transmission of infection, for example when there is risk of exposure to blood and body fluids, they are not a substitute for cleaning hands at the right time.
Gloves can become contaminated just like hands and are often misused, such as being worn indefinitely while health workers switch between patients or when they are performing multiple procedures for the same patient, the WHO said.
Many Indian experts have also raised concerns over the prolonged use of the same gloves by healthcare workers leading to an increased risk of
hospital-acquired infections
.
"Continued use of gloves is not an uncommon sight in hospitals. In fact, post Covid such instances have gone up. We need to create awareness among healthcare workers for correct usage," Dr Sumit Ray, medical director of Holy Family hospital, said.
He added that gloves should only be used by a doctor or nurse before a sterile procedure or when anticipating contact with blood or another body fluid.
According to the WHO advisory, gloves aren't recommended when contact with blood, another body fluid, non-intact skin and mucous membrane have occurred and have ended.
Also, it suggests that damaged or used gloves shouldn't continue to be worn as they are considered infectious and require high-temperature incineration or specialised treatment, adding strain to already burdened waste management systems.
"Medical gloves can reduce the risk of infection, but they are never a replacement for hand hygiene," said Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO assistant director-general, Universal Health Coverage, Life Course.
Last year, the Union health ministry issued a directive asking healthcare workers to remove all types of jewellery below their elbow while on duty.
Director general of health services Atul Goel also stressed on the need to develop and enforce a policy to restrict the use of mobile phones in patient areas and critical zones such as ICUs, HDUs, post-operative wards and operation rooms to reduce infection spread in hospital settings.
A study published in 2021 in the Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, which looked at the sources of fungus in the medicine ward and ICU of a leading hospital, found that out of 60 healthcare workers, 20 (33 per cent) showed fungal carriage. Aprons/hospital scrubs were contaminated in 17 (28 per cent) and hands in 3 workers (5 per cent).
The aprons and scrubs mainly carried moulds belonging to the Aspergillus species, while hands were contaminated with Candida species. Electronic devices and stethoscopes had no fungal contamination, the study noted.