Mobile Phones Contaminated with Bacteria among Workers in
Dental Clinics
Luma Jasim Witwit1, Hasan M. Al-Rammahi2, Israa Abass Ubaid1, Zainab Khudhur Ahmad AL-Mahdi1,
Ahmed Alhelal2
1Department of Microbiology, 2Department of Operative, College of Dentistry, Babylon University, Iraq
ABSTRACT
Unfortunately, cross Infection in dental field is a critical issue that most commonly occurs via different ways.
The possible transmitters are (dentists, students, workers, mobile phone and other dental instruments). thus,
the aim of this study is to investigate the level of contamination by measuring the percentages and type
of bacteria isolated by swabbing from different surface sites of (30) mobile phones devices of (dentists,
students, and workers) in a hospital of Dentistry Faculty - Babylon university. Collection of swaps samples
from (30) mobile phones of dental workers was conducted at University clinics and then transmitted to
the laboratory of microbiology to evaluate their bacterial contamination levels. Both McFarland standard
tubes and optical density methods were used for performing of bacterial quantification and the standard
microbiological techniques were used for identification of the isolated bacterial agent. All of the investigated
dental workers mobile devices have some degree of bacterial contamination (100%) either with single or
mixed microbial agents. S. epidermidis having the higher chance of contamination (23.3%), (16.6%) E.
coli and Enterococcus fecalis (20%) Bacillus spp., (10%) for S. aureas, (6.67%) Pseudomonas spp., (10%)
Streptoccocus spp., (3.33%) for each of Salmonella spp, Klebsiella spp., Shigella spp. and Proteus.spp.
respectively. The mean bacterial count was (1.5×109) method. By using the surface spread method, the
corresponding figures were an organisms/phone. Hand hygiene is very important in prevention mobiles
contamination and suggestion of prevent using mobiles phones in side dental clinics units.
Keywords: Mobile phone, Bacterial contamination, hand hygiene