One type of vinyl and seven types of latex gloves without visual defects were tested with respect to their barrier function against high concentrations of three viruses of varying size: herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1, 180 nm), human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1, 100 nm), and echovirus type 9 (Echo 9, 25 nm). Viral suspensions of HSV-1 (10(8) TCD50/ml), HIV-1 (10(5) TCD50/ml), and echovirus type 9 (10(7.5)TCD 50/ml) were placed in an inverted glove finger immersed in media and maintained for 3 h at room temperature with sampling performed from outside the glove at 10 min, 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, and 3 h. No cytopathic effect (CPE) was identified after inoculation onto Vero cells or RhMK cells for HSV-1 and Echo 9, respectively, and reverse transcriptase activity was not detected in Hut 78 cells after inoculation of HIV-1 during any of the time intervals. Stretching of a glove finger for 18 h with repetition of the procedure with Echo 9 revealed no CPE. We conclude that under these experimental conditions, intact gloves act as effective barriers to the transmission of viral particles, including HIV in the health care setting.