Managing infection control – Selecting the right gloves

The Honorable Minister of Primary Industries Malaysia, Teresa Kok, had recently held an educational seminar on Managing Infection Control – Selecting the Right Gloves in New Delhi. Among the attendees were His Excellency Dato’ Hidayat Abdul Hamid, high commissioner of Malaysia, and healthcare workers including doctors and nurses from nursing colleges, clinics and hospitals around New Delhi. Four experts from India and Malaysia presented papers during the seminar. The speakers covered important topics related to infection control such as infection prevention using medical gloves, technical properties of medical gloves, hand hygiene practices, and Standard Malaysian Glove (SMG).

The SMG is a product quality certification scheme from Malaysia. It was formulated by the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) and the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers’ Association (MARGMA), in consultation with regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The SMG provides assurance of quality for low-protein examination gloves that are lightly powdered or powder-free. The SMG establishes standards for dimensions, physical properties, freedom from holes as well as protein and powder contents of Natural Rubber examination gloves.

During her speech at the seminar, the Minister said “As the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter of high-quality medical gloves, Malaysia has garnered solid knowledge and experience in producing medical gloves. Apart from promoting gloves, we also want to reach out to healthcare workers and share our knowledge on the importance of proper selection and usage of medical gloves to control the transmission of infectious diseases. Malaysia can help contribute to India’s efforts to raise awareness among healthcare workers on the proper usage of medical gloves and hopes to see continuous collaboration between India and Malaysia in organizing the educational seminars.”

The Minister of Primary Industries from Malaysia was leading an economic and investment mission on palm oil and rubber to India from July 29 to August 2, 2019. The objective of the mission was to discuss issues related to trade of palm oil and rubber as well as promote investment. Among the agenda items during the mission was the organization of an educational seminar on medical gloves. The seminar was part of continuous efforts by the Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council (MREPC) to reach out to healthcare workers in India to raise awareness on the proper selection and usage of gloves to control infections.