Latex allergen levels vary as much as 400 percent among glove manufacturers. I reaction that included anaphylaxis involved children with spina bifida. These children have frequent urinary catheterizations and often undergo multiple surgeries, increasing their exposure to latex products. Patients with spina bifida are at such high risk for developing latex hypersensitivity that all should be treated as latex allergic from birth. 9 Patients who undergo multiple surgeries are also at risk.
Healthcare workers are the largest population at risk for developing a latex hypersensitivity.
The prevalence of Type I allergy is not known with certainty, but even a low estimate of 5 to 10 percent represents more than 200,000 people in the United States. The cause of the hypersensitivity is usually contact with powdered latex gloves. The accompanying table shows estimates for the primary populations at risk for latex allergy. People with atopic allergy are also at risk. Atopic allergy is a tendency to produce allergic antibodies and to potentially develop allergies.