| BRIEF RESEARCH ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2019 | Volume
: 63
| Issue : 2 | Page : 147-150 |
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Microorganisms isolated from mobile phones and hands of health-care workers in a tertiary care hospital of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Parul Dipak Shah1, Nasiruddin Moinuddin Shaikh2, Komal Vallbhbhai Dholaria3
1 Professor and Head, Department of Microbiology, Smt. N.H.L. Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Smt. N.H.L. Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
3 Third Year Resident, Department of Microbiology, Smt. N.H.L. Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Correspondence Address:
Nasiruddin Moinuddin Shaikh
Department of Microbiology, Smt. N.H.L. Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijph.IJPH_179_18
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The mobile phones have become an inevitable part of life for communication everywhere. Hospital-acquired infections are causing increased morbidity and mortality of hospitalized patients. After getting approval from the institutional review board, a total of 300 samples from mobile phones and dominant hands of resident doctors, nurses, and support staff working in neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, intensive care unit, and emergency ward were tested according to standard guidelines for culture. Of 300 samples tested, 144 (96%) mobile phones and 145 (96.66%) dominant hands showed contamination with one or more types of microorganisms. Monomicrobial organisms were recovered from 247 samples and polymicrobial organisms were isolated from 42 samples. Mobile phones and hands of helath care workers serve as a potential reservoir for hospital acquired infections as multi-drug resistant pathogenic bacteria as well as normal flora of skin were recovered.
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