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. 2019 Feb 27:47:15.
doi: 10.1186/s41182-019-0144-y. eCollection 2019.

Bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health professionals in Eastern Ethiopia: antimicrobial susceptibility and associated factors

Dagne Bodena  1 , Zelelam Teklemariam  2 , Senthilkumar Balakrishnan  3 , Tewodros Tesfa  2
Affiliations

Bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health professionals in Eastern Ethiopia: antimicrobial susceptibility and associated factors

Dagne Bodena et al. Trop Med Health. .

Abstract

Background: Mobile phones of health care professionals could harbor microbes which cause nosocomial infections to the patient, family members, and the community at large. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of bacterial contamination of the mobile phones of health professionals, identify bacterial isolates, assess their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, and define the associated factors.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from February to March 2018 on 226 health professionals' mobile phones which were selected by a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. A swab sample from each of health professional's mobile phone device was collected and transported to the microbiology laboratory for bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program version 20.

Result: The overall prevalence of mobile phone contamination with one or more bacteria was 94.2%. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS; 58.8%), Staphylococcus aureus (14.4%), and Klebsiella species (6.9%) were the most predominant bacterial isolates. The overall prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria was 69.9%. About half of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were resistant to ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Male sex (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 4.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1, 15.8) and the absence of regular phone cleaning/disinfecting were found to be the most significant factors (AOR 4.1, 95% CI 1.2, 13.5) associated with health care professionals' mobile phone bacterial contamination.

Conclusion: There is a high contamination rate of mobile phones with nosocomial pathogens. Most of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and also multidrug-resistant. A mobile phone belonging to male health professionals and to those not disinfecting mobile phones was significantly contaminated with bacteria. Therefore, strategies for preventing nosocomial transmission of drug-resistant pathogens through mobile phones, like hand washing and cleaning mobile phones, are recommended.

Keywords: Antimicrobial susceptibility; Bacteria; Eastern Ethiopia; Health care professional; Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital; Mobile phone.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Health Research Ethics Review Committee (IHRERC) of the College of Health and Medical Science, Haramaya University. Information on the study was explained to each participant, including the objectives, procedures, potential risks, benefits of the study and their rights. Informed voluntary written and signed consent was obtained from all respondents throughout to the study. Information obtained during this study was kept confidential by excluding names and identifiers in the questionnaires.Not applicable.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic presentation of the sampling technique. N.B.: N = the total population size, Ni = population size of each occupation, ni = sample size drawn from each occupation/profession, n = sample size required
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Distribution of bacterial isolates from mobile phones of health professionals at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia, Feb–Mar 2018
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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