Abstract
ObjectivesThe aim of this research was to determine drug sensitivity profiles of Staphylococcus species isolated from mobile phones of students in Microbiology and Biomedical Laboratory Sciences from UZIMA University, Kisumu (Kenya) and the University Colleges Leuven-Limburg, Leuven (Belgium), respectively.ResultsAll mobile phones (16/16, 100%) had gram-positive bacteria. 3/8 (37.5%) mobile devices had Staphylococcus aureus. 2/3 (67%) Staphylococcus aureus strains were resistant to ampicillin, oxacillin, ceftazidime, vancomycin and amoxicillin. Guidelines for disinfection of mobile phones need to be developed urgently to stop transmission of resistant bacteria.
Highlights
In 2019, approximately 5 billion people had mobile phones worldwide [1]
Gram-positive bacteria were isolated from all the mobile phones used in this study (n = 16)
Globally, there are increasing cases of bacterial infection in humans. This is mainly attributed to factors such as contamination of surfaces of mobile phones that eventually become fomites spreading pathogenic organisms by hands
Summary
Health care workers (HCW) use mobile phones to share X-rays, laboratory reports and electrocardiograms. This improves the quality of care during emergencies [2, 3]. Even though the usage of mobile phones in hospitals has a lot of benefits, it is still a large source of contamination. This is because when in use, mobile phones generate heat, which provides suitable conditions for the replication of bacteria present on them. Out of the 110 mobile phones about 35% were contaminated with one type of microorganism, 28% with two types and 15% with three types.
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