Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on cellphones of  healthcare workers in Najran University hospital, Najran City (Saudi Arabia)

Amna Mohammed Idris Musa; Nada Elsir Ahmed Fagir; Mugahed Ali Al-khadher; Mohammed Abdulrahman Alshahrani; Mohammed Hassan Nahari; Mohamed Aleraky Saleh; Itedal Abdelraheem Mohamed Ahmed

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Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on cellphones of healthcare workers in Najran University hospital, Najran City (Saudi Arabia)

Author: Amna Mohammed Idris Musa ¹ ; Nada Elsir Ahmed Fagir ² ; Mugahed Ali Al-khadher ¹ ; Mohammed Abdulrahman Alshahrani ³ ; Mohammed Hassan Nahari ³ ; Mohamed Aleraky Saleh ⁴ ; Itedal Abdelraheem Mohamed Ahmed ⁵
Author Information

1. Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, College of Nursing, Najran University, Najran, Suadi Arabia.
2. Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia.
3. Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia.
4. Microbiology Department, Najran University, KSA and Al-Azhar University, New Damietta, Egypt.
5. Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Najran University, Saudi Arabia.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Antibiotic resistance; cellphone; healthcare; MRSA,; Staphylococcus aureus
From:Malaysian Journal of Microbiology 2023;19(no.3):301-307
CountryMalaysia
Language:English
Abstract: Aims:Mobile phones are used extensively by healthcare workers (HCWs) who are unaware of the amount of contamination these phones carry and act as reservoirs for organisms causing hospital-acquired infections. This investigation was aimed to find the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) contamination and antimicrobial resistance patterns of isolates from HCW’s cellphones.
Methodology and results:This study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study. A total of 120 samples were isolated from HCWs’ cellphones and subjected to culture and sensitivity as per the standard guidelines. Five (18.1%) out of 120 collected samples were from 11 lab technicians’ phones and were positive for S. aureus and 6.25% were obtained from 48 nurses’ cellphone swabs.
Conclusion, significance and impact of study:The findings of this study reveal that HCWs’ cellphones could be apossible source of infection since a high prevalence of MRSA was found on lab technicians and nurse cellphone sample swabs. On the other hand, all S. aureus isolates were resistant to methicillin and ceftazidime. Also, no significant relationship between the prevalence of MRSA was detected.
Full text:20.2023my0033.pdf