The presence and spectrum of bacteria colonising mobile phones of staff and caregivers in high disease burden paediatric and neonatal wards in an urban teaching hospital in Durban, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Hospital acquired infections are on the increase worldwide. A possible source for transmission is the presence of microorganisms on mobile phones which are carried by increasing numbers of medical and nursing staff, students, and caregivers.Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed. Samples were obtained from medical and nursing staff, students, and caregivers from the paediatric wards (85 beds), and the neonatal unit (40 beds) at King Edward VIII Hospital (KEH), Durban. Mobile phones of participants were sampled, with sterile swabs, without prior warning. The swabs were transported promptly to the laboratory and cultured onto colistin, nalidixic acid agar and MacConkey agar plates. All positive cultures were identified using standard laboratory tests.Results: Of the 100 mobile phones sampled, 30 were contaminated with bacteria. Gram-positive microorganisms were more frequently cultured than Gram-negative microorganisms (29 vs. 7). Significantly more caregivers had contaminated phones (54.17% vs. 22.37%, p value = 0.003). Caregivers’ phones were predominantly contaminated with Staphylococcus spp. (41.67%). More phones in the general wards (37.5%) and nursery (32.5%) were contaminated compared to the gastroenteritis ward (10%).Conclusions: Our results indicate that one third of the mobile phones carried in the paediatric wards are contaminated. Caregivers had the highest likelihood of carrying mobile phones that were contaminated, with the lowest rate among the nursing staff. Caregivers’ phones were also more likely to have multiple microorganisms. The lowest rate of contamination was found in the gastroenteritis ward, possibly due to a heightened awareness of the need for handwashing.

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

“…The current meta-analysis used 2887 mobile phones from healthcare professionals to estimate the pooled proportion of bacterial contamination. In terms of sub-regional distribution, nine studies were from Eastern Africa [ 21 , 23 , 24 , 41 – 45 , 57 ], four studies were from Western [ 20 , 50 , 51 , 54 ], eight studies were from Northern [ 22 , 46 – 49 , 53 , 56 , 59 ], two studies from Southern [ 55 , 60 ], and three studies from central African countries [ 52 , 58 , 61 ]. The overall bacterial contamination rate of mobile phones reported by all studies included in this review ranges from 10.3% to 99.9% in Africa (Table 1 ).…”

Microbial Contamination of Mobile Phones in the Medical Laboratory Technology Department of a Private University in Alexandria, Egypt

“…HCW scan transfer microorganisms from the patient himself or from one of the samples taken from him to their own hands, from their hands to their phones, and from their phones to their faces, mouths and ears. In reverse, HCW scan transfer microorganisms from their phones to patients or to other members of the community outside the health care facility (Bobat et al, 2016).…”

“…Frequency of microbial contamination of mobile phones used by health care workers (HCWs) ranges from 20 % to 100%,as recorded by several investigators (Goldblatt et al,2007;Bobat et al, 2016;Deshkar et al, 2016;Ramesh et al, 2008;Lavanya et al, 2016;Chaka et al, 2016;Ananthakrishnan et al, 2006;Amer et al, 2016;Chawla et al, 2009;Tambe and Pai, 2012;Tiwari et al, 2016;Karthiga and Muralidaharan, 2016;Elkholy and Ewees, 2010;Ustun and Cihangiroglu, 2012;Selim and Abaza, 2015).…”

Extended Spectrum β-Lactamase Producers in Mobile Phones and Nosocomial infections: Risk Factors for Infection Control Practices

“…HCW scan transfer microorganisms from the patient himself or from one of the samples taken from him to their own hands, from their hands to their phones, and from their phones to their faces, mouths and ears. In reverse, HCWs can transfer microorganisms from their phones to patients or to other members of the community outside the health care facility (Bobat et al, 2016).…”