The Amount and Type of Microbial Contamination on Cell Phones of Medical Staff in Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Hamadan, Iran

Cell phones are increasingly used by health care personnel for communication. The present study evaluated the potential growth of pathogenic bacterial flora on cell phones in Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Hamadan, Iran. A questionnaire was prepared to assess the attention staff members paid to cleaning their cell phones. A total of 48 cell phones belonging to doctors and other staff members were screened for bacterial isolates. Sterile swabs moistened with nutrient broth were used to swab the front, back, and sides of the cell phones. The swabs were subjected to culture and sensitivity. It was found that around 56.25% of the cell phones of health care workers were super-contaminated and thus acted as potential sources of nosocomial infections. The most common bacteria were coagulase-negative staphylococcus (56.25%), Bacillus species (6.25%), and Escherichia coli (4.17%). Despite the importance of hand washing in hospitals and the associated high rates of nosocomial infections, only 6% of the staff members regularly cleaned their cell phones with disinfecting solutions. It is thus recommended to frequently decontaminate cell phones in the hospitals.