Mobile phones are hazardous microbial platforms warranting robust public health and biosecurity protocols

Abstract

Advancements in technology and communication have revolutionised the twenty-first century with the introduction of mobile phones and smartphones. These phones are known to be platforms harbouring microbes with recent research shedding light on the abundance and broad spectrum of organisms they harbour. Mobile phone use in the community and in professional sectors including health care settings is a potential source of microbial dissemination. To identify the diversity of microbial genetic signature present on mobile phones owned by hospital medical staff. Twenty-six mobile phones of health care staff were swabbed. DNA extraction for downstream next generation sequencing shotgun metagenomic microbial profiling was performed. Survey questionnaires were handed to the staff to collect information on mobile phone usage and users’ behaviours. Each of the 26 mobile phones of this study was contaminated with microbes with the detection of antibiotic resistance and virulent factors. Taken together the sum of microbes and genes added together across all 26 mobile phones totalised 11,163 organisms (5714 bacteria, 675 fungi, 93 protists, 228 viruses, 4453 bacteriophages) and 2096 genes coding for antibiotic resistance and virulent factors. The survey of medical staff showed that 46% (12/26) of the participants used their mobile phones in the bathroom. Mobile phones are vectors of microbes and can contribute to microbial dissemination and nosocomial diseases worldwide. As fomites, mobile phones that are not decontaminated may pose serious risks for public health and biosecurity.

FindingCandida aurisin public metagenomic repositories

“…can survive to passage through the gut in healthy adults and possibly generate further spread via wastewater (28, 29). Our observation raises the question of whether patients colonized with C. auris on the skin are also colonized in the gut and whether some human communities may harbor the previously unknown reservoirs of C. auris (30, 31). More studies of healthy people are needed to understand the prevalence of C. auris in the community (32).…”

Comparative Evaluation of Microbial Contamination on the Mobile Phones Used by Dental Health-care Professionals versus Faculty of School System

“…[ 18 ] Matthew and Rania also found that mobile phones that are not decontaminated may pose serious risks for public health and biosecurity. [ 19 ] Nightingale et al . also concluded that bacterial mask contamination was not associated with health-care profession or exposure and did not increase after 6 h of mask wearing in our nursing home setting.…”

Effect of Alcoholic Extract of Syntrichia intermedia on some Yeasts Isolated from Mobile Phones and the User’s Finger

“…90 random samples were collected 30 samples from the cover of the mobile phone and30 samples from the finger of its users for 15 females and 15 males ,tow samples for each person of different ages, residence, occupation, especially the pioneers of the Department of Life Sciences, College of Science, University of Mosul, the quality of the device, the number of hours of use, the region, the last time the hands were washed and the user's hand is right or left. North, the samples were taken by wearing sterile gloves and change it frequently to avoid fungal infection [12] and passing the cotton swab mixed with saline in a planned manner [13] on each of the mobile cover and the most used finger. The samples were planted in Petri dishes containing PDA and SDA medium and incubated at 28C° for 3 days, and then the results were taken at a rate of 7,5,3 days.…”