Isolation and Identification of Microbes on Hands and Mobile Phones Causing Urinary Tract Infections

Abstract

Background: Hands and cell phones are the major source of cross-transmission of urinary tract infections. The aim of this study was to isolate, identify and evaluate Gram-negative bacteria from hand and mobile phones. Methods: This study was conducted in visiting area of Civil Hospital Karachi, Pakistan. Analysis was done by 100 wet sterile cotton tipped swabs, 50 each from mobile phones and hands of their owners. Samples were transported in a Cary Blair transport media, Swabs were streaked on Nutrient agar, Blood agar and MacConkey agar. Organisms were identified by cultural, biochemical, and microscopic characteristics. Results: Total samples n=100 was collected from hand and mobile phones samples (50 hand and 50 mobile swabs) from the Dow university Hospital and Civil Hospital Karachi were tested. Six species of bacteria were isolated along with their identification during the research study. The isolated bacteria were Serratia, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Proteus, Shigella and Escherichia coli. The participants’ hands showed high bacterial contamination (50%-56%) in comparison to mobile phones. The frequency (%) of bacteria isolated from mobile phone and hand swabs included Serratia, 12 (24%) with the highest quantity and frequently found bacteria. While, the rest of the results reported Escherichia coli 10 (20%), Klebsiella 9 (18%), Pseudomonas 5 (10%), Shigella 4 (8%) and Proteus 10 (20%) respectively. Conclusion: Patient attendants in hospitals and visitors are more susceptible to nosocomial infections through exchange of mobile phones n=12(24%). Therefore, hygienic practice of hands cleaning while mobile using may help to break the transmission cycle of pathogenic bacteria.