Bacterial Colonization of Mobile Phones: Myth or Reality

Introduction Bacteria tend to persist on mobile phones for longer durations causing hospital-acquired infections. This is primarily because mobile phones have become an extended hand to healthcare workers due to their unavoidable utilization and the lack of sanitization after use in wards. Methods A questionnaire was used to assess the usage and disinfection practices of mobile phones among medical students regularly attending the wards of a teaching hospital. Culture was done to assess the presence of bacteria and their resistance to antibiotics. Three sterile cotton swabs were performed for each mobile phone. If growth was present, then a culture smear was made, and the type of bacteria was assessed. Participants received subsequent education on the disinfection of phones according to standard disinfection protocol. The main objective of the study was to determine the presence of bacteria on students' mobile phones and its resistance to antibiotics. Results A total of 103 medical students took part in the study, which included 51 males and 52 females. It was found that all the students used their mobile phones at all times in wards and 43% of them carried their phones to washrooms. Out of all the students surveyed, only 23% of students had regularly disinfected their phones. Bacteria were present on all mobile phones sampled. Among these, 98.05% had Gram-positive bacteria, 82.52% had Gram-negative bacilli, 33.98% had Bacillaceae, and 8.73% had vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE). Among participants who did not disinfect their phones, 95.89% and 97.59% had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), respectively. Conclusion Following standard disinfection protocols is the need of the hour to reduce hospital-acquired infections.