Bacterial contamination of healthcare workers’ mobile phones in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background Mobile phones are potential reservoirs for pathogens and sources of healthcare-associated infections. More microbes can be found on a mobile phone than on a man's lavatory seat, the sole of a shoe, or a door handle. When examining patients, frequent handling of mobile phones can spread bacteria. Nevertheless, evidence of bacterial contamination of mobile phones used by healthcare workers in Africa was inconclusive. Thus, this meta-analysis and systematic review was conducted to estimate the pooled prevalence of bacterial contamination of mobile phones used by healthcare workers and the most frequent bacterial isolates in Africa. Methods We systematically retrieved relevant studies using PubMed/MEDLINE, POPLINE, HINARI, Science Direct, Cochrane Library databases, and Google Scholar from July 1, 2023 to August 08, 2023. We included observational studies that reported the prevalence of bacterial contamination of mobile phones among healthcare workers. The DerSimonian–random Laird's effect model was used to calculate effect estimates for the pooled prevalence of bacterial contamination in mobile phones and a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Among 4544 retrieved studies, 26 eligible articles with a total sample size of 2,887 study participants were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of mobile phone bacterial contamination among healthcare workers was 84.5% (95% CI 81.7, 87.4%; I2 = 97.9%, p value < 0.001). The most dominant type of bacteria isolated in this review was coagulase-negative staphylococci (CONS) which accounted for 44.0% of the pooled contamination rate of mobile phones used by healthcare workers, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (31.3%), and Escherichia coli (10.7%). Conclusions In this review, the contamination of mobile phones used by HCWs with various bacterial isolates was shown to be considerable. The most prevalent bacteria isolates were coagulase-negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aurous, and Escherichia coli. The prevalence of bacterial contamination in mobile phones varies by country and sub-region. Hence, healthcare planners and policymakers should establish norms to manage healthcare workers' hand hygiene and disinfection after using mobile phones.

Microbiological Assessment of Car Doors and Steering Wheels at Benue State University, Makurdi: Public Health Implications

“…Several microorganisms have been associated with public surfaces including Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Enterobacteriaceae and several fungi genera (Al-Ghamdi et al, 2011;Oluyemi, Oluyemi, & Omonike, 2018;Zenbaba et al, 2023). Staphylococcus species are notably a commensal microorganism that colonizes the human population but could simultaneously trigger opportunistic infections of soft tissues, skin, blood, septic arthritis, sepsis and pneumonia (Kozajda, Jeżak, & Kapsa, 2019;Nadimpalli et al, 2018).…”

Conocimientos y Actitudes de riesgos de infecciones intrahospitalarias por uso de celulares. Hospital de Clínicas- Paraguay 2022

“…Además, la manipulación constante de los teléfonos móviles sin una desinfección adecuada después de su uso puede resultar en la contaminación con bacterias de la piel y las manos del usuario, incluyendo flora transitoria y flora local 9 . Incluso aspectos aparentemente simples, como cargar la batería del celular en superficies potencialmente contaminadas, pueden convertir el teléfono en un reservorio de bacterias 10 .…”

“…Como recomendaciones es la descontaminación rutinaria de teléfonos móviles con toallitas de alcohol o agentes de limpieza regulares, higiene y desinfección de manos después del uso de teléfonos móviles, para reducir la infección cruzada recomiendan limitar el uso de teléfonos móviles en las áreas de riesgo [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] . Esta situación, a menudo inadvertida por el personal médico, destaca la importancia de abordar los riesgos asociados al uso de teléfonos móviles en entornos hospitalarios.…”