Mobile phones spread infections in hospitals
Mobile phones belonging to hospital staff were found to be tainted with bacteria — including the drug-resistant MRSA — and may be a
source of hospital-acquired infections, according to a study .
Researchers from the Ondokuz Mayis University in Turkey led by Fatma Ulger tested the phones and the dominant hands of 200 doctors and nurses working in hospital operating rooms and intensive care units.
Ninety-five per cent of the mobile phones were contaminated with at least one type of bacteria, with the potential to cause illness ranging from minor skin irritations to deadly disease.
Nearly 35% carried two types of bacteria, and more than 11% carried three or more different species of bugs, the study found.
Most worrying, one in eight of the handsets showed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a virulent strain that has emerged as a major health threat in hospitals around the world.
Only 10% of staff regularly cleaned their phones, even if most followed hygiene guidelines for hand washing, the study noted.
Interestingly,Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a major clinical and epidemiological problem in hospitals in India as well. A study published in the National Medical Journal of India, Prabha Desikan et al found that:
MRSA continues to remain a major nosocomial pathogen. Nasal carriage of S. aureus or MRSA has been suggested as a risk factor for the development of nosocomial infections. In healthcare settings, telephones may get contaminated with MRSA from the anterior nares and act as fomites for transmission. Swabs were collected from the surfaces and bases of 100 telephone handsets. MRSA constituted 11.6% of the isolates. Both S. aureus and MRSA were isolated in large numbers mainly from the handsets of telephones. This may be due to repeated contamination of the mouthpiece by aerosols from the nose and mouth while using the phone. Contamination of telephones with S. aureus may indicate a considerable level of nasal carriage among persons using the phone. They may be staff, patients or relatives of patients.
The authors recommend daily cleaning and swabbing of telephones. Obviously, this is not enough, or is not done well enough, which may be due to lack of awareness of the instrument’s potential to act as a fomite. Infection control measures would therefore need to include creation of awareness among personnel regarding the possible role of telephone instruments as fomites in the transmission of nosocomial infections. The instruments need to be disinfected more frequently and thoroughly, with special attention to the mouthpiece.
Recent Comments