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Mobile phones represent a pathway for microbial transmission: A scoping review.
Olsen, Matthew; Campos, Mariana; Lohning, Anna; Jones, Peter; Legget, John; Bannach-Brown, Alexandra; McKirdy, Simon; Alghafri, Rashed; Tajouri, Lotti.
  • Olsen M; Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia.
  • Campos M; Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia.
  • Lohning A; Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia.
  • Jones P; Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia.
  • Legget J; Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia.
  • Bannach-Brown A; Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia.
  • McKirdy S; Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia.
  • Alghafri R; Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia; Dubai Police, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Dubai Police Scientists Council, Dubai Police, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Dubai Future Council on Community Security, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
  • Tajouri L; Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia; Dubai Police Scientists Council, Dubai Police, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Dubai Future Council on Community Security, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: ltajouri@bond.edu.au.
Travel Med Infect Dis ; 35: 101704, 2020.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-639689
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Mobile phones have become an integral part of modern society. As possible breeding grounds for microbial organisms, these constitute a potential global public health risk for microbial transmission.

OBJECTIVE:

Scoping review of literature examining microbial's presence on mobile phones in both health care (HC) and community settings.

METHODS:

A search (PubMed&GoogleScholar) was conducted from January 2005-December 2019 to identify English language studies. Studies were included if samples from mobile phones were tested for bacteria, fungi, and/or viruses; and if the sampling was carried out in any HC setting, and/or within the general community. Any other studies exploring mobile phones that did not identify specific microorganisms were excluded.

RESULTS:

A total of 56 studies were included (from 24 countries). Most studies identified the presence of bacteria (54/56), while 16 studies reported the presence of fungi. One study focused solely on RNA viruses. Staphylococcus aureus, and Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci were the most numerous identified organisms present on mobile phones. These two species and Escherichia coli were present in over a third of studies both in HC and community samples. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus, Acinetobacter sp., and Bacillus sp. were present in over a third of the studies in HC settings.

CONCLUSIONS:

While this scoping review of literature regarding microbial identification on mobile phones in HC and community settings did not directly address the issue of SARS-CoV-2 responsible for COVID-19, this work exposes the possible role of mobile phones as a 'Trojan horse' contributing to the transmission of microbial infections in epidemics and pandemics.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pneumonia, Viral / Cross Infection / Coronavirus Infections / Community-Acquired Infections / Cell Phone / Pandemics Type of study: Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials / Reviews Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: Travel Med Infect Dis Journal subject: Communicable Diseases Year: 2020 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: J.tmaid.2020.101704

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pneumonia, Viral / Cross Infection / Coronavirus Infections / Community-Acquired Infections / Cell Phone / Pandemics Type of study: Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials / Reviews Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: Travel Med Infect Dis Journal subject: Communicable Diseases Year: 2020 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: J.tmaid.2020.101704