Mobile phone microbial contamination among neonatal unit healthcare workers

Fifty mobile phones were sampled from 22 doctors, 19 nurses and nine medical students (seven males, 43 females). Average participants age was 38.3 ± 12.7 years, median 37.5 (range 20 - 61) and self-reported use in the preceding 24h 14.5 ± 10.9 times, median 10 (range 2 – 40). Average duration of mobile phones ownership was 17.6 ± 19.7 months and 17 (34%) HCW declared mobile phones “very important for their work”. Overall 43 (86.0%) phones demonstrated evidence of some bacterial contamination with isolation of 66 different strains (one bacterial species on 26 cellulars, two in 14 and three or more in three). In particular, 10 mobiles (20.0%) grew bacteria known to cause healthcare infection