Assessment of Bacterial Contamination of Mobile Phones Used by Students in University of Delta, Agbor, Nigeria
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Background: Mobile phones have from being a simple communication device to essential tool that support learning as well as daily human activities especially among university students. This study investigated bacterial contamination of mobile phones among students at the University of Delta, Agbor Methods: Total of 150 phones belonging to 75 males and 75 female students were swabbed and analysed using standard microbiological techniques. Results: seven bacterial species were identified : Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp, Salmonella spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus spp and Streptococcus spp. The prevalence of contamination was 77.3% (116/150). While Staphylococcus aureus as the most frequently isolated organism accounting for 26.7% of the total isolates while Streptococcus spp had the lowest occurrence rate of 2.7%. Gender based analysis showed a slightly higher contamination in male students’ mobile phones when compared to female. This was statistical not significant (χ² = 6.90, p >0.05).Conclusions: The findings confirm that mobile phone is a potent reservoir for pathogenic thereby posing a potential public health risk in academic sittings. This study emphasises the need for improved phone hygiene and a greater awareness of microbial
contamination risk among students; hence need for surveillance in community environments.
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