Healthcare Derived Smart Watches and Mobile Phones are Contaminated Niches to Multidrug Resistant and Highly Virulent Microbes

Abstract

Background As high touch wearable devices, the potential for microbial contamination of smart watches is high. In this study, microbial contamination of smart watches of healthcare workers (HCWs) was assessed and compared to the individual’s mobile phone and hands. Methods This study was part of a larger point prevalence survey of microbial contamination of mobile phones of HCWs at the emergency unit of a tertiary care facility. Swabs from smart watches, mobile phones and hands were obtained from four HCWs with dual ownership of these digital devices. Bacterial culture was carried out for all samples and those from smart watches and mobile phones were further assessed using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Results Majority of the participants were females (n/N = 3/4; 75%). Although they all use their digital devices at work and believe that these devices could harbour microbes, cleaning in the preceding 24 hours was reported by one individual. Predominant organisms identified on bacterial culture were multidrug resistant Staphylococcus hominis and Staphylococcus epidermidis . At least one organism identified from the hands was also detected on all mobile phones and two smart watches. Shotgun metagenomics analysis demonstrated greater microbial number and diversity on mobile phones compared to smart watches. All devices had high signatures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and associated bacteriophages and antibiotic resistance genes. Almost half of the antibiotic resistance genes (n/N = 35/75;46.6%) were present on all devices and majority were related to efflux pumps. Of the 201 virulence factor genes (VFG) identified, majority (n/N = 148/201;73%) were associated with P. aeruginosa with 96% (n/N = 142/148) present on smart watches and mobile phones. Conclusion This first report on microbial contamination of smart watches using metagenomics next generation sequencing showed similar pattern of contamination with microbes, VFG and antibiotic resistance genes across digital devices. Further studies on microbial contamination of wearable digital devices are urgently needed.

Mobile phone as fomites and Hand hygiene. A survey of 544 attendees of the 2023 WONCA international conference in Sydney, Australia

“…Subsequent work reported that SARS-CoV-2 was found to be viable on mobile phones for up to 28 days [3]. Furthermore, viability cultures and metagenomic analysis of mobile phone derived swab samples from healthcare providers has demonstrated that these devices are an important fomite [2,[4][5][6][7]. In addition to the extensive microbial community detected, metagenomic-based studies have also uncovered a large resistome and virulome, comprising genes for antibiotic resistance and virulence factors, respectively [5].…”

“…Mobile phones may be vectors for microbial dissemination and as such pose a signi cant threat for the spread of antibiotic resistant and highly virulent organisms globally, impacting biosecurity and national public health [4]. In 2017, the World Health Organisation published a catalogue of 12 families of bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health to foster research and development of novel antibiotics [8].…”

Microbial Contamination of Smart Watches in Dermatologic Surgeries: A Cross−Sectional Study

“…Moreover, our findings are consistent with another study, which detected similar microbial species on health care-derived smart watches and also confirmed the presence of antibiotic-resistant strains among these species. 5 One potential limitation is that participants' awareness of being monitored during Phase 2 could have influenced their behavior, resulting in increased caution toward preventing the transfer of microbes. Still, 4 of 7 participants were observed to have transferred microbes, suggesting that microbial transfer is an even more frequent occurrence than we have presented in this study.…”