EN 374-5 is a standard harmonised to Regulation (EU) 2016/425 on personal protective equipment. The standard includes fungi, bacteria and viruses among the microbiological agents.
Protective gloves protect against microbiological agents if they meet the requirements of EN 420 regarding their design and manufacture, their harmlessness, resistance to cleaning treatments expected during their life cycle and electrostatic properties. They must be comfortable and as far as possible absorb water vapour. Finally, they must be CE marked and have precise and comprehensible information.
Protective gloves against viruses, bacteria and fungi must not leak when tested for air and water leakage in accordance with points 7.2 and 7.3 of EN 374-2.
To protect against viruses the gloves must also be tested according to Procedure B of ISO 16604 without any detectable transfer (<1 PFU/ml) of the Phi-X174 bacteriophage in the titration for analysis.
The marking of protective gloves against bacteria and fungi, but especially against viruses, is done using the pictogram below by adding the indication "VIRUS" below the pictogram.
If other protective features such as chemical risks (EN 374), mechanical risks (EN 388), thermal risks (EN 511), electrostatic dissipation (EN 16350) are required, the appropriate performance standard must also be taken as reference. Further information on the standards for protective gloves can be found in EN 420.