Mobile phones of dental care workers: A mute source of contamination

The aim of present study was to isolate and identify the bacteria from mobile phone from our dental hospital.

This prospective observational study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology in collaboration with Department of Biochemistry, Genesis Institute of Dental Scientific and Research, Ferozpur, Punjab from October 2020 to June 2021, after taking the approval of the protocol review committee and institutional ethics committee. Total 80 mobile phones from participants by swabbing with the help of dry sterile cotton swabs and were put in (5ml) nutrient broth and incubated over-night at 37°C for 24 to 48 hrs. The samples were analyzed in the department of microbiology for culturing each sample on nutrient agar and MacConkey agar further incubated under aerobic condition at 37⁰ C for 24 hrs for bacterial growth. After the growth, isolation process was performed by B D Phoenix advanced automated microbiology system.

We identified bacteria such as, S. epidermidis (20%), E. coli (16%), Enterococcus fecalis (16%), Bacillus spp. (18%), Staphylococcus aureas (8%), Pseudomonas spp. (6%), Streptoccocus spp. (8%) and for Salmonella spp., Klebsiella spp., Proteus.spp., and Shigella spp. 2% for each.

We concluded that the mobiles would propagate bacterial transmission among individuals. This proposes the capability of the mobile phones as a fomite, which can lead to community-acquired infections with possible public health implications. We should use disinfectants or hand cleaning cleansers for cleaning of the mobiles and regular hand-washing ought to be supported as a method for shortening any potential disease transmission.