Identification of bacteria isolated from mobile phones of three medical and teaching hospitals administrative and medical staff in Ahvaz

Health care worker''s (HCW) mobile phones are one of the most important vehicles which transfer nosocomial infection agents. The aim of this study was identification of bacteria existing on HCW''s mobile phones in three Jundishapur university teaching hospitals in Ahvaz. It was in two groups: clinical and administrative staff. Samples were collected from 170 HCW''s mobile phones in Golestan, Emam Khomeini and Taleghani teaching hospitals. The samples consisted of two groups: group 1) Clinical personnel and group 2) Administrative personel. In each group 85 mobile phones were investigated and bacterial isolates were identified with gram and spore staining and standard biochemical tests consisting of catalase, oxidase, coagulase, manitol fermentation, TSI and other tests. Bacteria were isolated from 90% of the examined mobile phones: coagulase negative Staphylococci (69%), Bacilli (20.6%), Acinetobacter spp. (6%), Klebsiella pneumonia (1.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1.2%), Staphylococcus aureus (1.2%) and Ecsherishia coli (0.6%). From 18 isolated pathogenic bacteria, 13 bacteria isolated from group one and five were related to bacteria isolated from group two. The results of this investigation show that HCW''s mobile phones reserve nosocomial infection agents. The number of pathogenic bacteria in group one was significantly more than that of the group two. Therefore, the health care workers should be trained the effective methods to prevent the bacterial transmission through this way in order to control transmissible infections.