Microorganisms isolated from mobile phones and hands of health-care workers in a tertiary care hospital of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

ABSTRACT

The mobile phones have become an inevitable part of life for communication everywhere. Hospital-acquired infections are causing increased morbidity and mortality of hospitalized patients. After getting approval from the institutional review board, a total of 300 samples from mobile phones and dominant hands of resident doctors, nurses, and support staff working in neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, intensive care unit, and emergency ward were tested according to standard guidelines for culture. Of 300 samples tested, 144 (96%) mobile phones and 145 (96.66%) dominant hands showed contamination with one or more types of microorganisms. Monomicrobial organisms were recovered from 247 samples and polymicrobial organisms were isolated from 42 samples. Mobile phones and hands of helath care workers serve as a potential reservoir for hospital acquired infections as multi-drug resistant pathogenic bacteria as well as normal flora of skin were recovered.