Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health

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Volume 4, Issue 2, June 2014, Pages 135 - 140

Nosocomial pathogens associated with the mobile phones of healthcare workers in a hospital in Anyigba, Kogi state, Nigeria

Authors
E.O. Nwankwo*, emmaonwubiko@yahoo.com, N. Ekwunife, K.C. Mofolorunsho
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Kogi State University Anyigba, Kogi State, Nigeria
*Corresponding author. Address: P.O. Box 2367, Kano, Nigeria. Tel.: +234 8023309146.
Corresponding Author
Received 24 July 2013, Revised 8 November 2013, Accepted 26 November 2013, Available Online 31 December 2013.
DOI
10.1016/j.jegh.2013.11.002How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Healthcare workers; Nosocomial pathogens; Mobile phones; Antibiotic susceptibility
Abstract

Background: Mobile phones of healthcare workers (HCWs) could be colonized by potential bacteria pathogens. The aim of this research is to evaluate the bacterial contamination and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of isolates from mobile phones of HCWs in Grimad hospital.

Method: A total of 112 swab samples were collected from the mobile phones of HCWs and students in June 2012 in Anyigba. While 56 samples were from HCWs in Grimad hospital, 56 samples were obtained from non-healthcare workers (NHCWs) who served as the control. The samples were all screened for bacterial pathogens by standard bacteriological procedures. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done by the disc diffusion technique.

Results: The rate of bacterial contamination of mobile phones of HCWs was 94.6%. Bacteria isolated from mobile phones of HCWs were more resistant to antibiotics than NHCWs phones. Staphylococcus Epidermidis (42.9%) was the most frequently isolated bacteria followed by Bacillus spp. (32.1%), Staphylococcus Aureus (25%), Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (19.6%), Escherichia Coli (14.3%), Streptococcus spp. (14.3%), Proteus spp. (12.5%), Klebsiella spp. (7.1%), and Acinetobacter spp. (5.3%). Cotrimoxazole, ampicillin and tetracycline showed high levels of resistance while gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone exhibited encouraging results.

Conclusion: The presence of bacteria pathogens associated with nosocomial infection was identified. Transmission of pathogens can be reduced by hand hygiene and regular cleaning of mobile phones.

Copyright
© 2013 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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<Previous Article In Issue
Next Article In Issue>
Journal
Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue
4 - 2
Pages
135 - 140
Publication Date
2013/12/31
ISSN (Online)
2210-6014
ISSN (Print)
2210-6006
DOI
10.1016/j.jegh.2013.11.002How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2013 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Cite this article

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TY  - JOUR
AU  - E.O. Nwankwo
AU  - N. Ekwunife
AU  - K.C. Mofolorunsho
PY  - 2013
DA  - 2013/12/31
TI  - Nosocomial pathogens associated with the mobile phones of healthcare workers in a hospital in Anyigba, Kogi state, Nigeria
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 135
EP  - 140
VL  - 4
IS  - 2
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2013.11.002
DO  - 10.1016/j.jegh.2013.11.002
ID  - Nwankwo2013
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