Bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health care workers at Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Jimma, South West Ethiopia

Girma Mulisa Misgana Adama Hospital Medical College
Ketema Abdissa Jimma University
Gemeda Abebe Jimma University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3396/ijic.v11i1.13384

Abstract

Millions of people worldwide are suffering from infections acquired in hospitals. Contaminated equipment and hospital environments are known sources of infection. Mobile phones are used in hospitals without restrictions, regardless of their unknown microbial load. This study aimed to determine the level of bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health care workers at Jimma University Specialized Hospital in comparison with non health care workers’ mobile phones. A cross-sectional comparative study was used to conduct this study. The pattern of mobile phone use and cleaning practice of study participants were assessed using a questionnaire. Swab specimens were collected from exposed known areas of mobile phones and eluted in sterile normal saline. Colonies were counted using calibrated wire loop technique and growths were identified following standard bacteriological technique. Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method was used to determine the antimicrobial sensitivity tests of the isolates. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 16 A total of 71.2% (94/132) of mobile phones showed evidence of bacterial contamination from which 61.7% (58/94) were contaminated with >5colony forming units/cm2. The degree of bacterial contamination was higher among health care workers mobile phones (OR= 4.50; 95%CI 1.85-10.98). A total of 112 bacterial organisms were isolated with 33 Staphylococcus aureus, 61 coagulase negative staphylococci, 12 Bacillus species, 4 Micrococcus species, 1 Serratia species and 1 Klebsiella pneumonia. Thirty nine percent (5/13) of meticillin resistant S. aureus were vancomycin resistant. Health care workers mobile phones were more likely contaminated with meticillin resistant S. aureus than non health care workers’ mobile phones (OR=12.83; 95% CI 2.15-37.45). All of the study participants never wash their hands after mobile phone use and 75.5% (50/66) of health care workers answered that they used their mobile phones while attending patients. Health care workers mobile phones were more contaminated than non health care works’ mobile phones. The majority of the resistant isolates were from health care workers’ mobile phones.

Author Biographies

Girma Mulisa Misgana, Adama Hospital Medical College

BSc., MSc(Medical Microbiologist) Lecturer of Medical Microbiology at Adama Hospital Medical College, Adama, Ethiopa

Ketema Abdissa, Jimma University

Lecture of Medical Microbiology at Jimma University, Department of Laboratory Science and Pathology(BSc., MSc)

Gemeda Abebe, Jimma University

Lecturer of Molecular Biology (PhD) at Department of Laboratory Science and Pathology, Assistant Professor

Published

2015-03-11

Issue

Vol 11 No 1 (2015)

Section

Original Articles

Copyright conditions: Copyright on any research article in the International Journal of Infection Control (IJIC) is retained by the author(s). Authors grant IJIC permission to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher. Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its integrity is maintained and its original authors, citation details and publisher are identified. IJIC conforms to the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org) as terms and conditions of publishing research articles. In summary, anyone is free: • to copy, distribute, and display the work; • to make derivative works; • to make commercial use of the work; as long as: • the original author must be given credit; • for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are; • any of these conditions can be waived if the authors gives permission. Statutory fair use and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Authors' certification: In submitting a manuscript to IJIC, authors are requested to certify that: • They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements. • They warrant, on behalf of themselves and their co-authors, that: o the article is original, has not been formally published in any other peer-reviewed journal, is not under consideration by any other journal and does not infringe any existing copyright or any other third party rights; o they are the sole author(s) of the article and have full authority to enter into this agreement and in granting rights to IJIC are not in breach of any other obligation. If the law requires that the article be published in the public domain, they will notify IJIC at the time of submission; o the article contains nothing that is unlawful, libellous, or which would, if published, constitute a breach of contract or of confidence or of commitment given to secrecy; o they have taken due care to ensure the integrity of the article.