Mobile Phones: What Lies Beyond the Naked Eyes

Abstract

Aims: To determine the type of microorganisms growing on mobile phones of health care workers and the possibility of mobile phones being vectors for transmission of hospital-acquired infections. Methodology and Results: 50 random participants were chosen from health care workers from three orthopaedic wards of Sarawak General Hospital, Sarawak, Malaysia. Verbal consent was taken and a short questionnaire given. Subsequently, the mobile phones were swabbed with a cotton swab soaked in sterile normal saline over the front, sides and back aspect of the handphone. Samples taken were stored in a Stuart medium using Bijou bottles prepared sterile. After that, the samples were then streaked on 2 separate plates-blood agar and Mac Conkey. Subsequently,they were examined for the growth of microorganisms and the identification was made on the basis of colony morphology, gram reaction, coagulase and catalese test and antibiotic sensitivity for five different antibiotics by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. 12 out of 50 had a positive culture. Among the types of bacteria cultured, 2 (17%) was gram negative but cultured  fungal, and 10(83%) was gram positive bacteria. From the 10, 1 was methicillin resistant Staphylococus aureus, 1 was staphylococcus species extended spectrum beta lactamase, 2 more were coagulase negative staphyloccocus species resistant to methicillin and the remaining 6 were staphylococcus species methicilin sensitive. Conclusion: In this study, we concluded that pathogenic bacteria that is notorious for nosocomial infection does harbour in the mobile phones of our health care workers and urgent guidelines or protocols should be established to circumvent it.