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367107

Accumulation of Microbial Contamination on Keyboards and Mobile Phone Devices in the University Community

Article

Last updated: 23 Dec 2024

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Tags

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Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the level of contamination of, and whether there were any bacteria or yeasts on, the mobile phones of staff members and students, as well as on computers with touch displays and keyboards. Amount of 100 samples, being the total number of devices screened, both mobile phones and computer keyboards. All samples obtained from either mobile phones or keyboards showed various species of haemolysis microbes: beta haemolysis (β), alpha haemolysis (α), and gamma haemolysis (γ). A sample of 50 mobile phones and 50 computer keyboards were tested for the presence of coliform bacteria, Salmonella and Shigella strains, Staphylococcus sp., and yeasts. In regard to the percentages of microorganisms found in mobile phone samples, 55% of the total bacteria counted on contaminated devices came from multi-bacterial species, while no considerable contamination was detected by yeasts. The infection levels of mobile phone samples differed depending on the microbial load found on the samples. Similarly, various microorganisms were detected on the tested computer keyboards, with 50% of bacterial identified, with 25% being coliform bacteria, 16% Staphylococcus sp., 5% Salmonella and Shigella strains, and 4% yeasts. The infection level of computer keyboard samples again differed depending on the microbial load of the samples. The findings reveal that the infection rate for isolated organisms was relatively low. Lack of certain hygiene conditions, such as a protective cover, and use of public touchscreen laptops, keyboards and mobile phones without considering hygiene, are risk factors for microorganism contamination on these devices.

DOI

10.21608/ejm.2024.293612.1253

Keywords

Microorganisms transmission, public health, Devices hygiene, Community healthcare

Authors

First Name

Naief

Last Name

Almakishah

MiddleName

H

Affiliation

Kingdome of Saudi Arabia - King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah

Email

nalmakishah@kau.edu.sa

City

Jeddah

Orcid

-

Volume

59

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

48576

Issue Date

2024-06-01

Receive Date

2024-05-29

Publish Date

2024-06-01

Page Start

15

Page End

27

Print ISSN

0022-2704

Online ISSN

2357-0881

Link

https://ejm.journals.ekb.eg/article_367107.html

Detail API

https://ejm.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=367107

Order

367,107

Type

Original Article

Type Code

121

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Microbiology

Publication Link

https://ejm.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Accumulation of Microbial Contamination on Keyboards and Mobile Phone Devices in the University Community

Details

Type

Article

Created At

23 Dec 2024