Hand Microbiome And Resistant Strains From Cell Phones Of Health Personnel

Abstract

Purpose:To investigate the hand microbiome of Health Personnel and the flora transferred to their hands from cell phones. Methods:The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital over 3 months in 50 health personnel. Their dominant hand was placed on agar plates to establish the hand microbiome. After sanitizing and drying their hands, and using their phones for a few minutes, another handprint was taken to identify the bacteria on the phone. The bacteria were identified by standard microbiologic techniques. Results:Organisms identified in the normal microbiome included coagulase negative Staphylococci (CoNS, 90%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (16%), E. coli (8%), Staphylococcus aureus (4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2%) and Acinetobacter spp. (2%). CoNS isolated were found to be resistant to co-amoxiclav (41.67%), cotrimoxazole (20.83%), erythromycin (20.83%) and clindamycin (20.83%). Maximum resistance was observed towards co-amoxiclav. The repeat handprint showed the colony count as decreased by four times. Bacteria found were CoNS (92%), E. coli (4%), Enterococcus (4%), Klebsiella (2%) and Acinetobacter (2%). Antibiotic sensitivity was similar here with additional resistance to cefepime and cefoxitin by CoNS. Conclusion:Hand microbiome of health personnel comprises bacteria that are dangerous to immunocompromised individuals and our phones are effectively transmitting multidrug resistant bacteria to our hands within a few moments of contact. There was also a notable lack of S. aureus in our samples, while many other studies have shown it to be a common nosocomial pathogen, found on hands of health personnel. Keywords:Hand microbiome, Health Personnel, Antibiotic resistance, cell phone