Abstract
BackgroundMobile phones (MPs) have become one of the most indispensable accessories in social and professional life. Though they offer plenty of benefits, MPs are prolific breeding grounds for infectious pathogens in communities. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of bacterial contamination and determine antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from MPs.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from March to July 2019 on 126 students and 37 laboratory staff/clinical instructors’ MPs from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia by a simple random sampling technique. Along with the questionnaire, a swab sample from each participant’s MPs was collected and transported to the microbiology laboratory for bacterial culture as per standard microbiological procedures and antimicrobial susceptibility test by the disc diffusion technique. Data were analysed by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Programme version 24.ResultsAll of the tested MPs were contaminated with either single or mix bacterial agents. Bacillus spp. (74.8%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS; 47.9%) and S. aureus (20.9%) were the most predominant bacterial isolates, whilst the least isolate was Proteus vulgaris (P. vulgaris) (2.5%). Oxacillin resistance was seen in 5.9% of S. aureus isolate. A comparison of bacteria type and frequency among gender showed a significant difference with P. vulgaris (P = 0.003) and among profession showed a significant difference with S. aureus (P = 0.004).ConclusionThe present study indicates that MPs can serve as a vector for both pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms. Therefore, full guidelines about restricting the use of MPs in laboratory environments, hand hygiene and frequent decontamination of MPs are recommended to limit the risk of cross-contamination and healthcare-associated infections caused by MPs.
Highlights
A mobile phone (MP) is a long-range, portable electronic device for personal telecommunications over long distances
The present study revealed that all MPs tested had been prone to bacterial contamination which is supported by research conducted in Ghana and Egypt among university students and health care workers [16, 17]
All sampled MPs that were owned by the university health sciences students and laboratory employees were highly contaminated with various types of bacteria of which some are known as opportunist pathogens
Summary
A mobile phone (MP) is a long-range, portable electronic device for personal telecommunications over long distances. With recent advances in the source of information and social media apps, MPs have become an indispensable accessory in social and professional life [1]. In Malaysia, the use of technological devices and advancements in Education 4.0 is expected to present significant advantages in higher learning institutions. With new technologies such as paper-thin smartphones, artificial intelligence and QRcodes, students will have more time to learn and acquire new skills [3]. Mobile phones (MPs) have become one of the most indispensable accessories in social and professional life. Though they offer plenty of benefits, MPs are prolific breeding grounds for infectious pathogens in communities. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of bacterial contamination and determine antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from MPs
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