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Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Associated with Cell Phones of Healthcare Professionals in Selected Hospitals in Saudi Arabia

Saeed S. Banawas,A. Abdel-Hadi,Mohammed A Alaidarous,B. Alshehri,A. B. Bin Dukhyil,Mohammed Alsaweed,M. Aboamer

Published 2018 in The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale

ABSTRACT

Cell phones may be an ideal habitat for colonization by bacterial pathogens, especially in hot climates, and may be a reservoir or vehicle in transmitting nosocomial infections. We investigated bacterial contamination on cell phones of healthcare workers in three hospitals in Saudi Arabia and determined antibacterial resistance of selected bacteria. A questionnaire was submitted to 285 healthcare workers in three hospitals, and information was collected on cell phone usage at the work area and in the toilet, cell phone cleaning and sharing, and awareness of cell phones being a source of infection. Screening on the Vitek 2 Compact system (bioMérieux Inc., USA) was done to characterize bacterial isolates. Of the 60 samples collected from three hospitals, 38 (63.3%) were positive with 38 bacterial isolates (4 Gram-negative and 34 Gram-positive bacteria). We found 38.3% of cell phones were contaminated with coagulase-negative staphylococci, particularly Staphylococcus epidermidis (10 isolates). Other bacterial agents identified were S. aureus, S. hominis, Alloiococcus otitis, Vibrio fluvialis, and Pseudomonas stutzeri. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that most coagulase-negative staphylococci were resistant to benzylpenicillin, erythromycin, and rifampicin. Eight isolates were resistant to oxacillin, specifically S. epidermidis (3), S. hominis (2), and S. warneri (2). A. otitis, a cause of acute otitis media showed multidrug resistance. One isolate, a confirmed hetero-vancomycin intermediate-resistant S. aureus, was resistant to antibiotics, commonly used to treat skin infection. There was a significant correlation between the level of contamination and usage of cell phone at toilet and sharing. Our findings emphasize the importance of hygiene practices in cell phone usage among healthcare workers in preventing the transmission of multidrug-resistant microbes.

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2018

  • Venue

    The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale

  • Publication date

    2018-12-24

  • Fields of study

    Medicine, Environmental Science

  • Identifiers
    DOI 10.1155/2018/6598918PMID 30675320PMCID 6323467
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar, PubMed

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