# Role of Mobile Phone Use in Spreading Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria Implicated in Causation of Diarrheal and Nosocomial Infections at Kitale County Hospital

## TL;DR

This study examines how mobile phone use contributes to the spread of drug-resistant bacteria at a hospital in Kenya, finding that poor hygiene practices increase the risk of infection.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific bacteria and resistance patterns on mobile phones in a healthcare setting in Kitale County Hospital.

## Key findings

- Enterococcus faecalis was the most common bacterial isolate found on mobile phones.
- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus were detected.
- BlaVIM gene was the most commonly detected carbapenemase gene in isolates.

## Abstract

Rapid advancement and penetration of mobile phone technology has made the devices indispensable professional, social, and networking tools. However, the impact of their use in the spread of multi-drug resistant diarrheal-causing bacteria is less understood.

The aim of this study was to determine the practices of mobile phone use among healthcare workers, paediatric patients' caretakers, and paediatric inpatients with diarrhoea at Kitale County Referral Hospital, and identify the associated risk of spread of bacteria, including multi-drug resistant strains on the mobile phones.

Questionnaires were administered to research participants and swabs were collected from mobile phones of consenting healthcare workers and paediatric patients' caretakers for further analysis. Stool samples were also collected from paediatric study participants diagnosed with gastroenteritis. Culture was done following standard microbiological procedures. Isolate identification, antibiotic susceptibility profile, and MDR phenotypes were tested using the Vitek 2 Compact microbiology analyzer. Gram-negative MDR isolates were then screened for selected carbapenemase genes using multiplex real-time PCR.

Only 38% of healthcare workers sanitize their handsets during or after work. The most common mobile phone bacterial isolate was Enterococcus faecalis (28.95%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (18.42%). 58% of stool sample isolates were Vibrio cholera 01 serotype followed by Escherichia coli 0157.H7 (20%). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (43%) and Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus (6%). BlaVIM was the most commonly detected gene from five isolates, including Vibrio cholera 01

The most common pathogen circulating on the mobile phones of healthcare workers and patients' caretakers at Kitale County Hospital is Enterococcus faecalis.