KLEENGUARD® Protective Clothing and Avian Influenza.

Avian flu is a highly pathogenic virus (H5N1) in poultry, domestic fowl and wild birds and it is thought it could be the precursor of a new human influenza virus.

We wish to make it clear that Kimberly-Clark® has not tested its KLEENGUARD® Protective Clothing garments against Avian flu virus.

At a time of mounting concern regarding the risks posed by Avian influenza, it may be appropriate to consider suitable forms of limited use protective clothing. As the risk would appear to be associated with potential contact with contaminated surfaces and especially those surfaces contaminated by excretions from infected birds, then consideration of the barrier properties of the protective clothing may be advisable.
The product which offers the highest level of chemical protection in our European range is KLEENGUARD® T35 Coveralls. This garment has been tested and certified against the relevant European standards for Type 3 (Limited use chemical protective clothing with liquid tight connections, EN 14605:2005) and Type 5 equipment (Limited use clothing offering protection to the full body against solid particulate chemicals, draft prENISO 13982-1:2003). This product is made from a barrier film laminated to a nonwoven fabric. The laminate has resistance to permeation (the process by which a chemical moves through a protective clothing material on a molecular level) to a wide range of liquid chemicals (as measured by test method EN 374-3). The garment is constructed using welded seams to provide enhanced protection. In addition KLEENGUARD® T35 Coveralls have been tested and certified against EN 14126 (Limited use protective clothing against infective agents). This may help prevent direct contact of liquids, aerosols or solid particles contaminated with infective agents reaching the skin or may help prevent the spreading of infective agents to other situations. The hazard level posed by the type of infective agent exposed to is covered by European Directive 90/679/EEC and the risk should be assessed accordingly by the customer.

SAFESKIN* Hand Protection and Avian Influenza.

In addition many of our customers have asked us about the use of SAFESKIN* hand protection against the threat of Avian influenza (flu) virus.

Avian flu is a highly pathogenic virus (H5N1) in poultry, domestic fowl and wild birds and it is thought it could be the precursor of a new human influenza virus.

We wish to make it clear that Kimberly-Clark® has not tested its SAFESKIN* gloves against Avian flu virus.

At a time of mounting concern regarding the risks posed by Avian influenza, it may be appropriate to consider suitable forms of hand protection. As the risk would appear to be associated with potential contact with contaminated surfaces and especially those surfaces contaminated by excretions from infected birds, then consideration of the barrier properties of the glove may be advisable.
Gloves should provide durable in-use barrier protection to prevent the risk of exposure to infectious agents. We do not recommend the use of vinyl gloves when activities require the risk of exposure to infectious agents. Gloves should be powder-free regardless of the base material (latex, nitrile, etc.) as microorganisms can adhere to, and be transported by, powder.

In this context, the following test methods are probably the most pertinent for evaluating barrier performance when subjected to viral challenge:

1) Watertight test for detection of holes (EN455-1/EN374-2)
This test is performed by placing an unused glove over the end of a vertical cylinder and filling it with 1000 ml of water. The glove is visually inspected immediately for water leakage and in addition after a two to three minute time period. Values are stated as Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL), indicating the statistically allowed failure rate (an AQL of 1.5 is equivalent to 3.17% defects).
Kimberly-Clark® also recommends for all high risk applications to use double gloving techniques.

2) Viral Penetration
The viral penetration test is not required according to the European standards, but some manufacturers provide this data. ASTM F1671-97b is a standardised test method used to assess the ability of the gloves to resist viral penetration. A single layer of glove is placed between two halves of a test chamber. A liquid suspension of the challenge virus, Phi X 174, is placed in one side of the chamber. The other half of the chamber is filled with receiving media. Samples are pulled from the receiving chamber at various times throughout the challenge period. Detection of any virus in the receiving media indicates breakthrough and thus failure of the glove material. Also of note is that the Phi X 174 bacteriophage is one of the smallest known viruses and is 25-27 nm in size (for comparison: Hepatitis B is 42-47 nm and the HIV virus is 80-110 nm in size). This test therefore gives glove wearers increased confidence of the quality of the glove material that may not be evident in the water leak assay.

All of the SAFESKIN* powder free latex and nitrile gloves such as the SAFESKIN* PURPLE NITRILE®, Blue Nitrile and PFE have an AQL level of 1.5 and have undergone the viral penetration test. Additional protection may be sought by wearing longer length gloves or using double gloving techniques. In this respect the 12”/30cm SAFESKIN* PURPLE NITRILE®-XTRA and SAFESKIN* PFE-XTRA will allow glove wearers to obtain a higher level of protection of the wrist area.

TECNOL® Facial Protection and Avian Influenza.

In addition many of our customers have asked us about the use of TECNOL® facial protection against the threat of Avian influenza (flu) virus.

Avian flu is a highly pathogenic virus (H5N1) in poultry, domestic fowl and wild birds and it is thought it could be the precursor of a new human influenza virus.

We wish to make it clear that Kimberly-Clark® has not tested its TECNOL® masks against Avian flu virus.

There is some evidence that the virus H5N1 may be capable of airborne spread and the fact that it has such a high mortality rate, a fit-tested NIOSH approved disposable particulate respirator of N-95 rating or higher is recommended at this time (NIOSH Particulate Filtration Efficiency (PFE) test challenge is approx. 0.3 micrometers). Similar respirator mask rating systems such as those designated as FFP2 or greater are utilised for airborne transmission protection in several countries. Examples of these are the Kimberly-Clark® Tecnol® Respirators PFR P2 and PFR P3.

A surgical mask is a second alternative if respirators are unavailable; however, the mask should have bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) greater than 97% (ASTM F 2101 challenge aerosol is approximately 3 micrometers). However, surgical masks are not as protective as respirators. Note: Masks of cotton, gauze, wool, cloth, or paper are NOT effective barriers.

Please be advised that in a medical environment all products that are being used to protect and/or treat the patient need to be CE marked as Medical Devices according to the Council Directive 93/42/EEC. This would not be required for products that are being primarily being used to protect the medical staff (i.e. respirators, faceshields, ...) and that do not come into any contact with the patient.

If Avian flu is suspected you should immediately contact your local public health authority, or law enforcement agency for advice.