Jornal de Agentes Antimicrobianos

Bacterial Contamination of Mobile Phones of University Students in Eastern Nigeria: Hand-Phone Hygiene Practices Among Students and Antibiogram of Bacterial Contaminants

Abstract

Malachy C Ugwu, Chisom M Onyekwelu, Ugonna C Morikwe , Kene C Ezejiegu, Uchenna U Okafor

Background: Mobile phones could be reservoirs of a wide variety of bacterial species/infections. The Community-acquired infections caused by bacteria have increased and thus there are public health concerns of mobile phone usage. The study was aimed at determining the hand-phone hygiene practices among Pharmacy students, incidence and antibiogram of bacterial contaminants of their mobile phones of Pharmacy students . Method: A pretested, structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the participant’s demographics, knowledge, attitude and practice of hand-phone hygiene practices. The data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-20) and presented as frequency and percentages response. Swabs of 240 students’ mobile phones were taken; cultivated and bacterial isolates obtained were identified using standard microbiological methods. Antibiotic susceptibility studies were also done on the prevalent bacterial species using Kirby- Bauer disc method. Result: There were 95 (39.6%) males and 145 (60.4%) females that participated in the study. Majority of the students 215 (89.6 %) use their phones when eating while few 25 (12.9 %) do not.. Most of the respondents 211 (87.91 %) knew that their mobile phones can serve as a means of infection transmission. However, only 50% of the respondents admitted cleaning their phones regularly. A total of 162 bacterial isolates were obtained from mobile phones sampled. Amongst the bacteria species were Staphylococcus aureus 25%, Klebsiella Pneumonia 20%, Escherichia coli 19%, Shigella spp 16%, Pseudomonas aeruginosa 16%, and Halo-tolerant Bacillius 6%. Conclusion: Mobile phones harbor arrays of bacterial species and can serve as a means of community- acquired infection transfer. The most prevalent bacteria specie amongst the students was Staphylococcus aureus and the hand and phone hygiene practices among the students were poor. Keywords: Mobile phones • Hand and phone hygiene • Antibiotic resistance • Bacteria species • Students