Bacterial contamination of mobile phones of healthcare workers at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract

Summary Background Mobile telephones (henceforth ‘phones’) have become an essential part of everyday life in both healthcare and community settings. However, the widespread use of mobile phones in healthcare facilities is of concern because they can act as vehicles for transmitting pathogenic bacteria. This study aimed to investigate the bacterial contamination of mobile phones of healthcare workers (HCWs) at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia. Methods This cross-sectional study, from May to July 2019, involved 117 HCWs. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather sociodemographic and phone usage data. The mobile phones of HCWs were swabbed for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Results The overall prevalence of mobile phone contamination was 79%. The predominant isolates were coagulase-negative staphylococci (50%), Staphylococcus aureus (24.5%) and Bacillus spp. (14.3%). Other isolates were Escherichia coli , Acinetobacter spp. , Pseudomonas spp. , Klebsiella sp. and Proteus sp. Most isolates were susceptible to tetracycline, gentamicin and cotrimoxazole, while all Gram-positive organisms were resistant to penicillin. Meticillin resistance was detected in 25% and 48% of S. aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci isolates, respectively. No significant association was found between mobile phone contamination and age group, gender, profession, mobile phone disinfection or work area. Conclusion Mobile phones of HCWs carry potentially pathogenic bacteria and can be a source of healthcare-associated infections in healthcare settings. Hence, regulations regarding the use of mobile phones need to be developed, especially in critical areas, to reduce the dissemination of pathogenic bacteria from hands to phones and, potentially, to patients.

High Rate of Bacterial Contamination on Healthcare Worker’s Mobile Phone and Potential Role in Dissemination of Healthcare-Associated Infection at Debre Berhan Referral Hospital, North Shoa Zone, Ethiopia

“…Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are the most serious health risk for patients. 32 Most of the isolates (88.1%) in this study were resistant to at least one antibiotic tested. Bacterial isolates showed a higher resistance rate against penicillin (84%) followed by ampicillin (81%) and tetracycline (42%), Also, MRSA and methicillin-resistant CoNS were isolated.…”

“…This is opposite to other similar studies done in Zambia. 32 This difference might be the reflection of poor adherence to the infection prevention practice in ICU of the present study area. The rate of bacterial contamination of MP owed by those HCWs who did not disinfect or clean their phone was also higher than those who cleaned their phone.…”

Fighting Antibiotic Resistance in Hospital-Acquired Infections: Current State and Emerging Technologies in Disease Prevention, Diagnostics and Therapy

“…Healthcare workers’ mobile phones can also be a source of transmission of resistant bacteria to the community ( Debnath et al, 2018 ; Mushabati et al, 2021 ). In EU, this problem seems to be less striking with fewer resistant bacteria detected on the phones ( Galazzi et al, 2019 ; Missri et al, 2019 ).…”

Microbiological Contamination of Mobile Phones and Mobile Phone Hygiene of Final-Year Medical Students in Uganda: A Need for Educational Intervention

“…10 Various studies in different medical institutions have reported that 71.8-100% of healthcare workers' mobile phones are contaminated with organisms, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Furthermore, studies have shown that bacteria isolated from mobile phones are MDR. 19 A study carried out in Ethiopia found an overall prevalence of 69.9% MDR bacterial isolates.…”