Title: Prevalence and antibiotic pattern of microbes isolated from mobile phones of health care

workers and non - health care workers

Author(s): Neha Sharma, Aruna Solanki, R.S.Parihar, P.K.Khatri, Arvind Chandora, Archana
Bora
Link: https://www.ijcmas.com/vol-3-2/Neha%20Sharma,%20et%20al.pdf

As healthcare workers claim cellular phones to be of great use in their day to day system, it is inevitable
for these to be exposed to microorganism contamination making it reservoirs most especially for
nosocomial infections which pose significant risks of morbidity in patients admitted in the healthcare
facility. Because of this alarming concern, a group of researchers from Jodhpur, India, conducted a study
which focuses on the prevalence and antibiotic pattern of microbes isolated from the mobile phones of
healthcare workers and comparing it with the microorganisms isolated from non-healthcare workers to
see if there were any differences and if such devices play a role in the widespread of bacteria in hospitals.
They were more specific to healthcare workers assigned to intensive care units (ICU) and critical care
units (CCU) as the patients of this personnel from these quarters are more vulnerable to hospital-acquired
infection. This experimental study was done in the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Jodhpur. The sample
collection was done randomly.
A sterile cotton swab moistened with thioglycollate broth was used and 70% isopropyl alcohol for the
decontamination after that. A hundred samples were collected by swabbing the keypad and buttons as
these areas are the ones that would frequently come in contact with the fingertips. Half of the samples
were taken from the healthcare workers in that facility while half were collected from the non-healthcare
workers. All the samples were inoculated in culture media such as Blood Agar, MacConkey agar,
HiCrome agar, and one Thioglycollate broth medium. These culture media were then incubated at 37C in
ambient air for up to 24 hours. The culture of the said samples was performed in the Microbiology
laboratory located in the same hospital where they have gotten their collected samples. After overnight
incubation, microbial growth from the plates was examined, and the identification of microorganisms was
made both microscopically and macroscopically with use of standard biochemical tests.
All characteristics of the different colonies that grew on the plates were also taken note of. After such
characterizations done, smears were also done and stained with Gram’s technique which would help the
researchers differentiate the colonies into gram-positive or gram-negative microorganisms. To identify its
antibiotic sensitivity, the Kirby Bauer method was observed, and Muller Hinton Agar was used as the
primary plate. After all laboratory procedures were performed, it was observed that indeed, mobile
phones from healthcare workers showed a higher carriage rate of bacterial contamination in comparison
to those which are from the non-healthcare workers with values 94% and 80% respectively. It was also
observed that different bacterial species were isolated from the different samples collected. One bacterial
species grew on one mobile phone, two on another mobile phone, and so on. With regards to the
comparison of microbial growth, the study showed that the microorganisms isolated from the mobile
phones of healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers were somewhat similar. However, they differ in
their contamination rates. Microorganisms like Klebsiella spp., Enterococcus spp., Streptococcus spp.,
Pseudomonas spp., E.coli, Candida albicans, and gram-positive bacilli were isolated, and these bacteria
are known to cause infections in humans, most especially to the immunocompromised. Klebsiella species
was the most prevalent microorganism isolated from the mobile phones of healthcare workers while
Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent for the non-healthcare workers. The researchers also found
out that the contamination frequency of microorganisms isolated differ from laboratories to the different
departments in the hospital, Staphylococcus albums being the most prevalent bacteria to be separated in
intensive care units (ICU) and critical care units (CCU). Aside from the identification of microbial
isolates, their antibiotic susceptibility was also examined. Out of the 91 microorganisms isolated, only 80
of the isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing since 11 of the isolates were known to be
part of the normal flora. The disc diffusion technique was employed, and zones of inhibition were
observed and measured with the use of a metered rule. There were a lot of variations as far as sensitivity
was concerned, and it is fortunate that the microorganisms tested were sensitive to most of the antibiotics
use. However, these results do not change the fact that mobile phones have a possibility of increasing the
risk of nosocomial infections in healthcare facilities making the patients more vulnerable to diseases.