The Study of Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus Contamination in Health Personal’s Mobile Phone at Srinagarind Hospital

Abstract

Background : Health personnel always carry and uses mobile phone for communication, therefore, mobile phone may be the source and cause of Staphylococcus aureus contamination and endemic in the hospital.

Objective : To study the prevalence of  S. aureus contamination on the mobile phone of health personnel in Srinagarind hospital.

Materials and Methods : Health personnel will be randomized by simple method; the outer surfaces of the mobile phone will be swabbed and Cultured using Transferred Mannitol salt agar.

Study design : This is descriptive study.

Site of the study : Srinagarind  Hospital.

Population and sample : Two hundred twenty mobile phones of health personnel.

Results : Sixty four of 220 samples (34.5%) of mobile phones were contaminated, thirty two samples (14.5%) were found  to be  S. aureus and  32 samples (14.5%) were not S. aureus. Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) was found in seven sample (3.2%) , however, there was no Methicillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) found in this study. Eighty five (43.2%) personnel always clean their mobile phones using clean wet cloth or alcohol to wipe out their mobile phones. The risk of mobile phone contamination was 1.5 times higher in the no-cleaning mobile phone than the cleaning one.

Conclusion  : There was 14.5% prevalence of S. aureus contamination on the health personnel’s mobile phone at Srinagarind hospital. To clean  and wipe out the mobile phone will reduce the chance of this contamination.

Key word : Staphylococcus aureus, mobile phones,  health personnel,  contamination,  mehticilin resistant / sensitive