Pathogenic Flora on Mobile Phones: Microbial Diversity on Touchscreens of Clinical Laboratory Staff in Tripoli, Libya-Implications forInfection Control

Abstract

Mobile phones (MPs) are requently handled in clinical laboratories and can
act as reservoirs for bacteria. To estimate the prevalence and spectrum of bacterial contamination on MPs of laboratory staff in private facilities in Tripoli, Libya. We swabbed 60 phone screens using sterile saline- oistened swabs, cultured specimens on standard media, and identified isolates with routine bacteriological methods. 51 of 60 phones (85.0%, 95% Continuous integration CI 73.9–91.9) yielded growth. Across 75 isolates, the leading organisms were Staphylococcus epidermidis (20, 26.7%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16, 21.3%), Escherichia coli (14, 18.7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (11, 14.7%), Staphylococcus aureus (8, 10.6%), Bacillus spp. (4, 5.3 %), and Salmonella spp. (2, 2.7%). MPs used by laboratory personnel showed a high contamination burden, including clinically relevant pathogens. Structured phone-hygiene policies should complement hand hygiene in private-sector laboratories.