The Bacterial Contamination of Nurses' Mobile Phones in A General Hospital in Kermanshah, West of Iran Download PDF

Introduction Mobile phones are electronic devices for personal communication and they have become necessary accessories in social life. These devices have potential role in transmission of infectious agents. In this study, we investigated the rate of bacterial contamination of nurses' mobile phones in a general hospital in Kermanshah, west of Iran. Materials and Methods A total of 64 samples were collected from nurses' mobile phones in a general hospital in Kermanshah, west of Iran. Samples were collected with help of sterile cotton swabs moistened. Then mobile phones were cleaned with 70 percent ethanol alcohol. Bacterial isolates were identified using microbiological and biochemical standard tests. Antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed according to Kirby–Bauer method. Results Out of 64 nurses, 47 cases were female (73%). The mean age was 32.8±16.3 years. All of mobile phones samples grew organisms. Fifty-five cases (85.9%) and 9 cases (14.1%) had a single and two types of colonies. The most common detected bacteria was coagulase-negative staphylococcus (76.6%). The mean colony-forming units (CFUs) counts before and after cleaning were 74.34±14.56 and 11.78±5.24, respectively (p<0.001). Twenty cases (31.2%) of mobile phones showed no growth after such cleaning (p<0.001). Conclusion Results of present study showed that high rate contamination of nurses' mobile phone in this hospital. Cleaning of mobile phones with 70% ethanol reduced significantly mean CFUs counts. The cleaning of mobile phones as well as hand hygiene are necessary in order to avoid transfer of infection by these devices