Changes in the microbial flora of airline headset devices after their use

The bacterial flora of 20 headset devices were evaluated before and after they were worn for 1 hour. Bacteria were recovered from all headsets, and their number increased from a mean (+/- standard deviation) of 60 +/- 5 organisms per device to 650 +/- 51 organisms per device (P less than .001). The predominant organisms recovered were Staphylococcus spp, Streptococcus spp, Propionibacterium spp, and Peptostreptococcus spp. This study demonstrates the presence of potential pathogens in headset devices, as well as the increase in the number of these pathogens after the headsets have been worn for 1 hour.