Flies, larvae found in latex gloves

Published: Wednesday, May 21, 2008

 
Some latex examination gloves being used by dentists and doctors across Canada contain flies, larvae and unidentified black matter, a Global B.C. investigation has revealed.
 
A look through a high-powered microscope not only revealed flies with their wings still attached embedded in the gloves, but also showed there were holes in the nine gloves inspected.
 
A technician in Dr. Victor Hasson's Vancouver medical clinic first noticed something strange about one of the gloves.

"She put the glove under the microscope and discovered that those irregularities were actually insects," said Hasson.
 
"It's certainly nothing that anyone would like to see in a medical product. This may just be tip of the iceberg, who knows," he added.
 
The gloves were shipped by Calgary-based distributor Hedy Canada, and are used by dentists in oral examinations and by doctors performing Pap smear tests and prostate exams. The company says it distributes about one million gloves per week.
 
A spokesman with Hedy said there are occasionally "inclusions" in the gloves -- "it happens on occasion, not frequently." He added the company did not find any bugs in gloves that were inspected.
 
Hedy does not examine the gloves under microscopes, he added. They only look for "visible" inclusions.
 
 
© The Calgary Herald 2008

Marisa Thomas, Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
 
Some latex examination gloves being used by dentists and doctors across Canada contain flies, larvae and unidentified black matter, a Global B.C. investigation has revealed.
 
A look through a high-powered microscope not only revealed flies with their wings still attached embedded in the gloves, but also showed there were holes in the nine gloves inspected.
 
A technician in Dr. Victor Hasson's Vancouver medical clinic first noticed something strange about one of the gloves.
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"She put the glove under the microscope and discovered that those irregularities were actually insects," said Hasson.
 
"It's certainly nothing that anyone would like to see in a medical product. This may just be tip of the iceberg, who knows," he added.
 
The gloves were shipped by Calgary-based distributor Hedy Canada, and are used by dentists in oral examinations and by doctors performing Pap smear tests and prostate exams. The company says it distributes about one million gloves per week.
 
A spokesman with Hedy said there are occasionally "inclusions" in the gloves -- "it happens on occasion, not frequently." He added the company did not find any bugs in gloves that were inspected.
 
Hedy does not examine the gloves under microscopes, he added. They only look for "visible" inclusions.