Malaysia promotes rubber medical gloves over vinyl
ERJ staff report (BC)
Petaling Jaya - The Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council (MREPC) organised a seminar on “Managing Infection Control - Selecting the Right Gloves†at Beijing recently to create awareness of using good-quality gloves with adequate barrier protection capabilities among healthcare workers.
MREPC considers that despite already dominating China's rubber glove market, Malaysia could sell many more medical gloves in view of a consumer switch from vinyl gloves to latex and nitrile gloves in China.
“In fact, we are just touching the tip of the iceberg. I think there is a huge potential in China as there is a lot of usage in vinyl gloves which is not something we recommend,†said MREPC chief executive officer Datuk Teo Suat Cheng in an interview in the Chinese capital.
“We held this seminar to educate Chinese glove consumers [on] what is good for the doctors and nurses to use in the healthcare sector.
“Because of the pricing factor where rubber prices went up tremendously, there had been pressure on hospitals to get cheaper gloves, so they ended up buying vinyl ones.â€
Vinyl gloves are often considered as a substitute to natural latex and nitrile gloves and they tear rather easily, according to MREPC, which quotes statistics showing that hospitals in China use 65% of vinyl gloves mainly manufactured by Chinese companies, and 34% of latex gloves (which include both natural rubber and nitrile gloves).
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Full report by Chow How Ban in The Star Online
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