Bacterial Contamination of Health Care Workers, Hands and their Mobile Phones in Haj Alsaffy Teaching Hospital in Khartoum State

Abstract

Use of mobile phones by Health Care Workers (HCWs) in the operation theatre (OT) and Critical Care Units (CCU) may have serious hygiene consequences as the patients are more vulnerable to hospital acquired infections. This study investigated the possibility of spreading hospital acquired infection through the usage of mobile phones by HCWs working in OT and CCU, due to contamination of their hands and mobiles. This cross sectional study was carried out in Hag Alsaffy Teaching Hospital. Hundred participants (n=100) each (doctors, nurses and cleaning workers) were enrolled randomly. From each participant two samples were collected, one from the dominant hand and the other from the mobile phone (52 doctor, 28 nurses and 20 cleaning workers). The samples were processed for the isolation and identification of possible contaminating bacteria and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns were determined. Eighty seven out of 100(87%) mobile samples showed significant bacterial growth, while 95/100(95%) hand samples showed the same results. Furthermore, 22of the 25 isolated Staphylococcus aureus (88%) were methicillinresistant (MRSA) and 21 (84%) were vancomycin-resistant (VRSA) in the hands and mobiles. All isolated Gram-negative organisms from both mobiles and hands were resistant to ampicillin (100%). In conclusion, large proportion of the mobile phones used by HCWs as well as their hands were found to carry different species of the reported nosocomial bacteria.