Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Associated with Cell Phones of Healthcare Professionals in Selected Hospitals in Saudi Arabia
| Title: | Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Associated with Cell Phones of Healthcare Professionals in Selected Hospitals in Saudi Arabia |
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| Authors: | Saeed Banawas, Ahmed Abdel-Hadi, Mohammed Alaidarous, Bader Alshehri, Abdul Aziz Bin Dukhyil, Mohammed Alsaweed, Mohamed Aboamer |
| Source: | Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, Vol 2018 (2018) |
| Publisher Information: | Wiley, 2018. |
| Publication Year: | 2018 |
| Collection: | LCC:Infectious and parasitic diseases LCC:Microbiology |
| Subject Terms: | Infectious and parasitic diseases, RC109-216, Microbiology, QR1-502 |
| More Details: | 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. |
| Document Type: | article |
| File Description: | electronic resource |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 1712-9532 1918-1493 |
| Relation: | https://doaj.org/toc/1712-9532; https://doaj.org/toc/1918-1493 |
| DOI: | 10.1155/2018/6598918 |
| Access URL: | https://doaj.org/article/03b895cf373c40dd84eb22f480878ae1 |
| Accession Number: | edsdoj.03b895cf373c40dd84eb22f480878ae1 |
| Database: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
| ISSN: | 17129532 19181493 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.1155/2018/6598918 |
| Published in: | Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology |
| Language: | English |